Relationships between smoking behavior and readiness to change physical activity patterns in a community in Japan

To examine the relationship between readiness to change exercise behavior and smoking behavior; stratified by gender.

A cross-sectional survey of those inhabitants of Hikami, Japan, who were 30 years of age or older (n = 11,708). The response rate was 82.1%. Chi-squared tests and analysis of variance were used to evaluate differences in characteristics by smoking behavior, and the odds ratio (OR) was calculated to examine the relationship while controlling for possible confounding factors such as age, body mass index, and health consciousness.

Even when controlling for confounding factors, the relationship between the two behaviors differed according to gender Among males, ex-smokers were more likely to be motivated to exercise (OR, 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], .95-1.36), whereas among females, smokers were more likely to be motivated to exercise (OR, .40; 95% CI, .34-.48).

Despite some limitations, the findings suggest that gender should be used as a stratification variable when discussing the relationship between smoking and exercise behaviors.