Physical activity and the neighborhood environment in a heavy snowfall area in Japan: The role of “Gangi-dori”

This study investigated the association between physical activity (PA) and the built environment, by focusing on gangi-dori, a traditional countermeasure structure against heavy snowfall in Joetsu, Japan. Gangi-dori refers to a row of conjoined housing eaves that form a roofed walking space along the street. For 55 participants aged 35-79 years in areas with and without gangi-dori, levels of PA and locations were simultaneously measured by accelerometer and using a global positioning system in non-snowfall and snowfall seasons. Findings indicate that the seasonal difference in PA was associated with the presence of gangi-dori: in the area with gangi-dori the amount of PA was greater in the snowfall season, while in the area without gangi-dori, there was less PA in the snowfall season. A remarkably large proportion of the time spent in gangi-dori was accounted for by non-sedentary activity in the snowfall season, with the median time spent there being 8.2 min/day. As the seasonal difference in time spent in gangi-dori was disproportionately small in relation to the difference in PA levels, the relationship between gangi-dori and physical activity may be indirect. These results suggest that gangi-dori may help to maintain or even increase levels of PA in the snowfall season, and demonstrate the potential of well-designed built environment features to support and promote PA in adverse climatic conditions.