Researchers examined the information from middle-aged employees who participated in a program called Specific Health Guidance. This innovative initiative, launched by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, aims to enhance the lifestyle habits of individuals with or at risk of metabolic syndrome. By utilizing machine learning techniques, the researchers investigated various factors that influence the development of exercise habits. Their findings indicated that the key element favorably affecting the establishment of these exercise habits is ‘advanced levels of lifestyle behavior according to the transtheoretical model.’
Inactivity is the fourth leading cause of mortality, trailing only hypertension, smoking, and high blood sugar levels. Therefore, it is essential to cultivate exercise habits to sustain and enhance one’s health. In Japan, Specific Health Guidance is offered to aid individuals in improving their lifestyle habits, including those related to exercise. To make health guidance more effective, it is imperative to identify the factors that affect its success, such as the characteristics and lifestyles of the target demographic. In this investigation, the researchers analyzed data from middle-aged workers who engaged with the Specific Health Guidance program using machine learning to uncover factors tied to the formation of exercise habits and assessed the significance of these factors.
The researchers carried out a secondary analysis of data acquired from health insurance organizations and other entities through health initiatives in 2017-2018. They discovered that the most significant factor linked to the development of exercise habits was “advanced stages of behavioral change aimed at enhancing lifestyle,” followed closely by “elevated levels of physical activity” and “high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels within the normal range.” Conversely, “consuming 60 grams or more of alcohol daily” negatively impacted the formation of exercise habits.
This research highlighted the factors related to the traits and lifestyles of middle-aged workers who received Motivational Health Guidance through the Specific Health Guidance program, which positively correlate with developing exercise habits. The insights obtained from this study could help create more effective health guidance strategies.
This research was supported by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (grant numbers 21ek0210124h9903 and JP23rea522107).
