Daily steps are low year-round and dip lower in fall/winter: findings from a longitudinal diabetes cohort

Table 2 Fall/Winter to Spring/Summer Differences

	Fall/Winter, mean (SD) across individuals	Spring/Summer, mean (SD) across individuals	Within-Individual Fall/Winter to Spring/Summer Differences (95% CI)
Objective measures
Walking, steps/day	4,901 (2,464)	5,659 (2,611)	-758 (-1,037 to -479)
Hemoglobin A1C^a, %	7.6 (1.3)	7.7 (1.3)	-0.10 (-0.21 to 0)
Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg	137 (16)	133 (14)	4.0 (2.3 to 5.7)
Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg	80 (10)	79 (9)	1.4 (0.4 to 2.4)
BMI, kg/m²	30.2 (6.0)	30.2 (6.0)	0.07 (-0.04 to 0.18)
Waist circumference, cm
Women	98.7 (14.1)	98.9 (13.8)	-0.2 (-1.0 to 0.5)
Men	104.2 (13.0)	104.8 (12.7)	-0.5 (-1.3 to 0.2)
Waist/hip
Women	0.879 (0.063)	0.882 (0.061)	-0.003 (-0.01 to 0.004)
Men	0.967 (0.060)	0.971 (0.060)	-0.004 (-0.01 to 0.004)
Self-reported measures
Total energy intake, kcal/day^b	1,730 (684)	1,700 (662)	30.0 (-37.9 to 98.0)
Carbohydrate intake, g/day^b	187 (76)	182 (74)	5.7 (-2.9 to 14.4)
Salt intake, mg/day^b	2,598 (1353)	2,546 (1182)	51.9 (-86.3 to 190)
Total physical activity, metabolic equivalent-minutes/week^c	2,598 (2463)	2,921 (2700)	-451 (-872 to -30.4)

SD, standard deviation; CI, Confidence interval
^a Given that A1C reflects glycemic control over the prior two to three months, winter/spring A1C values may reflect fall/winter glycemic control and summer/fall A1C values may reflect spring/summer glycemic control. We therefore also computed Winter/spring to Summer/Fall difference in A1C which was 0.012% (95% CI -0.10% to 0.13%).
^b Shatenstein and colleagues' Food Frequency Questionnaire [21]
^c International Physical Activity Questionnaire (Short Last 7 days format) [20]

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