Policy in Sports & Physical Activity Research Group, University of Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
School of Sport Studies, Fontys University of Applied Science, 5644 HZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 29;19(15):9284. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159284.
As the two prime examples of sport light, running and walking have become very popular sports activities in the past decades. There are references in the literature of similarities between both sports, however these parallels have never been studied. In addition, the current digitalisation of society can have important influences on the further diversification of profiles. Data of a large-scale population survey among runners and walkers ( = 4913) in Flanders (Belgium) were used to study their sociodemographic, sports related and attitudinal characteristics, and wearable usage. The results showed that walkers are more often female, older, lower educated, and less often use wearables. To predict wearable usage, sports-related and attitudinal characteristics are important among runners but not among walkers. Motivational variables to use wearables are important to predict wearable usage among both runners and walkers. Additionally, whether or not the runner or walker registers the heart rate is the most important predictor. The present study highlights similarities and differences between runners and walkers. By adding attitudinal characteristics and including walkers this article provides new insights to the literature, which can be used by policymakers and professionals in the field of sport, exercise and health, and technology developers to shape their services accordingly.
作为运动的两个主要范例，跑步和步行在过去几十年中已成为非常流行的运动活动。文献中有关于这两种运动相似性的参考，但这些相似之处从未被研究过。此外，当前社会的数字化可能对进一步多样化的情况产生重要影响。利用在佛兰德斯（比利时）进行的一项针对跑步者和步行者（=4913 人）的大规模人口调查的数据，研究了他们的社会人口统计学，与运动相关的和态度特征以及可穿戴设备的使用情况。结果表明，步行者中女性，年龄较大，受教育程度较低，使用可穿戴设备的频率较低。为了预测可穿戴设备的使用，运动相关和态度特征在跑步者中很重要，但在步行者中则不重要。可穿戴设备的使用动机变量对预测跑步者和步行者的可穿戴设备使用非常重要。此外，跑步者或步行者是否记录心率是最重要的预测因素。本研究强调了跑步者和步行者之间的相似之处和差异。通过添加态度特征并包括步行者，本文为文献提供了新的见解，这可以为体育，运动和健康领域的政策制定者和专业人员以及技术开发人员提供参考，以便他们相应地调整服务。
