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The Use of Point-of-Decision Prompts to Increase Stair Climbing in Singapore

Physical inactivity is a significant contributor to worldwide mortality and morbidity associated with non-communicable diseases. An excellent avenue to incorporate lifestyle physical activity into regular routine is to encourage the use of stairs during daily commutes. We evaluated the effectiveness...

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Autores principales: Sloan, Robert Alan, Haaland, Benjamin Adam, Leung, Carol, Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3564138/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23296208
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10010210
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author Sloan, Robert Alan
Haaland, Benjamin Adam
Leung, Carol
Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk
author_facet Sloan, Robert Alan
Haaland, Benjamin Adam
Leung, Carol
Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk
author_sort Sloan, Robert Alan
collection PubMed
description Physical inactivity is a significant contributor to worldwide mortality and morbidity associated with non-communicable diseases. An excellent avenue to incorporate lifestyle physical activity into regular routine is to encourage the use of stairs during daily commutes. We evaluated the effectiveness of point-of-decision prompts (PODPs) in promoting the use of stairs instead of the escalators in a Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station. We measured the number of stair climbers before the PODPs were put up, during the 4 weeks that they were in use, and 2 weeks after they were removed. Measurements at a no intervention control site were additionally taken. The use of stair-riser banners was associated with an increase in the number of people using the stairs by a factor of 1.49 (95% CI 1.34–1.64). After the banners were removed, the number of stair climbers at the experimental station dropped to slightly below baseline levels. The Singapore MRT serves a diverse multi-ethnic population with an average daily ridership of over 2 million and 88 stations island-wide. An increase of physical activity among these MRT commuters would have a large impact at the population level. Our findings can be translated into part of the national strategy to encourage an active lifestyle in Singaporeans.
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spelling pubmed-35641382013-02-11 The Use of Point-of-Decision Prompts to Increase Stair Climbing in Singapore Sloan, Robert Alan Haaland, Benjamin Adam Leung, Carol Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Physical inactivity is a significant contributor to worldwide mortality and morbidity associated with non-communicable diseases. An excellent avenue to incorporate lifestyle physical activity into regular routine is to encourage the use of stairs during daily commutes. We evaluated the effectiveness of point-of-decision prompts (PODPs) in promoting the use of stairs instead of the escalators in a Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station. We measured the number of stair climbers before the PODPs were put up, during the 4 weeks that they were in use, and 2 weeks after they were removed. Measurements at a no intervention control site were additionally taken. The use of stair-riser banners was associated with an increase in the number of people using the stairs by a factor of 1.49 (95% CI 1.34–1.64). After the banners were removed, the number of stair climbers at the experimental station dropped to slightly below baseline levels. The Singapore MRT serves a diverse multi-ethnic population with an average daily ridership of over 2 million and 88 stations island-wide. An increase of physical activity among these MRT commuters would have a large impact at the population level. Our findings can be translated into part of the national strategy to encourage an active lifestyle in Singaporeans. MDPI 2013-01-07 2013-01 /pmc/articles/PMC3564138/ /pubmed/23296208 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10010210 Text en © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Sloan, Robert Alan
Haaland, Benjamin Adam
Leung, Carol
Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk
The Use of Point-of-Decision Prompts to Increase Stair Climbing in Singapore
title The Use of Point-of-Decision Prompts to Increase Stair Climbing in Singapore
title_full The Use of Point-of-Decision Prompts to Increase Stair Climbing in Singapore
title_fullStr The Use of Point-of-Decision Prompts to Increase Stair Climbing in Singapore
title_full_unstemmed The Use of Point-of-Decision Prompts to Increase Stair Climbing in Singapore
title_short The Use of Point-of-Decision Prompts to Increase Stair Climbing in Singapore
title_sort use of point-of-decision prompts to increase stair climbing in singapore
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3564138/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23296208
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10010210
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