OBJECTIVE This study was a long-term survey of a stair climbing campaign that made use of point-of-choice prompts aimed at achieving exemplary behavior in citizens. METHODS The campaign began in September 2007 at the Kochi Prefectural Office. We monitored office workers who climbed the stairs or used the elevator in the prefectural office building, excluding weekends, from August 2007 through...

Wedge orthotics are commonly prescribed for patients with hyperpronation and/or low back pain to improve lower limb alignment and to reduce pain. The purpose of this study was to examine the kinetic effects of medial and lateral wedge orthotics during walking and stair negotiation. Twenty-two healthy young adults participated in the study. Each participant wore no wedge (W0) as a baseline and l...

BACKGROUND Accumulation of lifestyle physical activity is a current aim of health promotion, with increased stair climbing one public health target. While the workplace provides an opportunity for regular stair climbing, evidence for effectiveness of point-of-choice interventions is equivocal. This paper reports a new approach to worksite interventions, aimed at changing attitudes and, hence, b...

Previous interventions have successfully increased levels of stair climbing in public-access settings (e.g. malls). This study used robust methods to establish the magnitude of intervention effects among a specific target group-the overweight. Ascending stair/escalator users (N = 20 807) were observed in a mall. A 2-week baseline was followed by a 5-week intervention in which message banners, p...

Effects of stair gradients and obesity on walking speeds on stairs were empirically investigated. The participants included a group of elderly people (n=18) and a group of young people (n=15). They were asked to ascend/descend four staircases with different gradients, as well as to walk on a flat surface, at both normal and fast speeds. The study found the effects of stair gradients. When walki...

The purpose of this study is Comparing Effect of a Period of Stair Exercise on Physical and Mental Fitness Factors of Active and Inactive Women. In this way 15 active women with average (age of 32.12+-6.74, height of 162.07+8.67 and weigh of 61.21+-5.34) and 15 inactive women with average (age of 33.62+-6.93, height of 161.25+-7.15 and weight of 64.32+-6.86) participated voluntarily. The testes...

BACKGROUND Understanding the biomechanics of the medial longitudinal arch (MLA) may provide insights into injury risk and prevention, as well as function of the arch-supporting structures. Our understanding of MLA deformation is currently limited to sit-to-stand, walking, and running. MATERIAL AND METHODS Three-dimensional deformation of the MLA of the right foot was characterized in 17 healt...