The Association between Physical Activity and Body Awareness: Cross-Sectional Study of Japanese Female University Students

A cross-sectional evaluation of the association between total physical activity and Body Awareness was performed. The subjects were 361 Japanese female university students. The IPAQ- SV was used to assess the amount of physical activity, and Fujino's Body Awareness Scale was used to assess Actual Body Feeling, Awareness of Bodily Feeling, Awareness when Standing and Walking, and Bodily Distress. Total Body Awareness was defined as the sum of the above three except for Bodily Distress. The data were adjusted for age and body fat and the association between physical activity and Body Awareness was examined using analysis of covariance. The results revealed positive associations between physical activity and Total Body Awareness (P for trend=0.001). In terms of intensity, there were positive associations between Total Body Awareness, moderate-intensity physical activity (P for trend=0.041) and vigorous-intensity physical activity (P for trend=0.001). These results suggest that there is a positive association between physical activity and Body Awareness among Japanese female university students, especially for vigorous-intensity physical activity.