Gender-related Differences in Sedentary Behavior of Japanese Living Overseas in Malaysia

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the differences in social demographic factors and sedentary behavior by gender in Japanese living overseas in Malaysia.

First, 130 subjects were surveyed by self-entry questionnaire for statistical factors related to social demographics and sedentary behavior. These factors were age (years), gender (man/woman), body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), educational history (>13 years, %), employment (full-time or part-time, yes, %), alcohol intake (a certain amount, yes, %), smoking behavior (yes, %), and marital status (yes, %). BMI, as obtained from the participants' weight and height, was collected from the self-reported questionnaire and assessed. Sitting behavior time as an index of sedentary behavior on workdays, non-workdays, and total time was identified by questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the chi square-test and t-test, respectively. The criterion for a statistically significant difference was p < 0.05.

Finally, 107 subjects (68 men, 39 women) were analyzed. The ratios of social demographic factors of the men versus women group were age (58.5 ± 14.7 vs. 61.0 ± 12.1 years, p = 0.36), BMI (23.1 ± 2.6 vs. 21.8 ± 2.6 kg/m2, p = 0.01), educational history (86.7% vs. 56.4%, p < 0.001), employment (51.5% vs. 10.3%, p <0.001), alcohol intake (86.7% vs. 35.9%, p < 0.001), smoking behavior (30.9% vs. 10.3%, p = 0.01), and marital status (88.2% vs. 100%, p = 0.02). Sitting behavior time was 501.8 ± 254.6 vs. 346.0 ± 153.4 minutes (p < 0.001) on workdays, 415.1 ± 225.3 vs. 320.6 ± 178.7 minutes (p = 0.019) on non-workdays, and 458.5 ± 203.9 vs. 333.3 ± 132.1 minutes (p < 0.001) in total.

These findings indicated that social demographic factors and sitting behavior time differed by gender. However, there are some limitations. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in only one city with a small number of participants who completed a self-entry questionnaire. In conclusion, assessment of the differences in social demographic factors and postponement of sedentary behavior for both genders may reduce sitting behavior time in overseas Japanese residents and may help in developing public health strategies.