Associations between utilitarian walking, meeting global physical activity guidelines, and psychological well-being among South Korean adolescents

Introduction: This study examined the levels of utilitarian walking by age and gender and associations between utilitarian walking, meeting global physical activity guidelines, and psychological well-being in a nationally representative sample of South Korean adolescents. Methods: The 2016 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey included complete self-reported data from 60,548 adolescents aged 12-17 years (M age = 14.8 +/- .02). Utilitarian walking was the exposure variable and outcome variables included meeting the World Health Organization's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommendation (>= 60 min/day), happiness, and stress. Covariates included age, gender, area of residence, economic status, and academic performance. The Complex Samples (CS) general linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: A significant age x gender interaction was observed on weekly utilitarian walking. Boys showed higher utilitarian walking than girls (5.8 vs. 5.1 h/wk; p < .001). The age differences were more apparent among girls with younger age generally showing higher utilitarian walking than older age except 12 vs. 13 years (p < .001). Among boys, age differences were only observed for 12 vs. 13 years and 13 vs. 14 years (p < .001). Weekly utilitarian walking for 1-5 h (Odds ratio[OR]: 1.73, 95% Confidence interval[CI]: 1.41-2.13) and > 5 h (OR: 5.26, 95% CI: 4.32-6.41), compared to < 1 h, were associated with meeting the MVPA recommendation (p-for-trend < .001). Compared to adolescents who reported < 1 h/wk on utilitarian walking, those reporting 1-5 h/wk (OR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.12-1.25) and > 5 h/wk (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.22-1.37) were associated with higher odds of being happy in a linear fashion (p-for-trend < 0.001) after adjusting for MVPA in addition to covariates. No associations were observed between utilitarian walking and no/low stress. Conclusion: Higher levels of utilitarian walking were associated with meeting the MVPA recommendation and being happy. Future studies should investigate the correlates of utilitarian walking to inform interventions and strategies to promote such walking among Korean adolescents.