Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) on Daily Steps Among University Employees

Last reviewed: March 2026

Background and Context

Walking is the most accessible form of physical activity, requiring no special equipment, training, or facilities. Public health guidelines have increasingly promoted a target of 10,000 steps per day, a benchmark associated with meaningful health benefits including reduced cardiovascular risk, improved glucose metabolism, better weight management, and enhanced mental wellbeing. The Tudor-Locke and Bassett pedometer classification system categorises fewer than 5,000 steps per day as sedentary, 5,000–7,499 as low active, 7,500–9,999 as somewhat active, 10,000–12,499 as active, and 12,500 or more as highly active.

University employees — both academic and administrative staff — represent a population at particular risk of sedentary behaviour. Long hours at desks, computer-intensive work, and the transition to mechanised transport mean that incidental physical activity has declined substantially in modern workplaces. In Malaysia, the National Health and Morbidity Survey has consistently documented high rates of physical inactivity among adults, with office workers particularly affected.

Study Design and Methodology

This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Kuala Lumpur Campus of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), involving 127 academic and administrative employees. All participants wore a pedometer for three consecutive working days to obtain an objective measure of daily step counts. In addition, participants completed a validated KAP questionnaire assessing their knowledge about the health benefits of walking, their attitudes towards walking as exercise, and their self-reported walking practices. Sociodemographic data were also collected.

Step count data were categorised using the Tudor-Locke and Bassett pedometer classification system, and associations between KAP scores and actual step counts were analysed.

Key Results

The overall mean daily step count was 7,506 steps (SD = 3,764), placing the average participant in the “somewhat active” category but below the recommended 10,000-step target. There was considerable variation across individuals, with step counts ranging from fewer than 3,000 to over 15,000 per day.

When categorised by the pedometer classification, approximately one-quarter of participants fell into the sedentary category. Males were slightly more likely to be sedentary than females (29% vs. 22%), although males were also more likely to be in the highly active category (24% vs. 13%), suggesting greater variability in male activity patterns.

Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Gap

The most significant finding was the disconnect between knowledge, attitudes, and actual behaviour. Most participants demonstrated reasonable knowledge about the health benefits of walking and held positive attitudes towards incorporating more walking into their daily routines. However, their actual step counts did not reflect these favourable cognitions. This “KAP gap” — where knowledge and attitude fail to translate into behaviour change — is a well-documented phenomenon in health promotion research and has implications for intervention design.

Implications for Workplace Health Promotion

The findings suggest that knowledge-based interventions alone are insufficient to increase walking behaviour among university employees. Programmes that address environmental and structural barriers — such as walking-friendly campus design, active transportation incentives, standing or walking meetings, and step-count challenges with social accountability — may be more effective at bridging the gap between intention and action.

Malaysian universities, as major employers and centres of knowledge creation, are well-positioned to model evidence-based workplace wellness programmes. The Malaysian Ministry of Health’s guidelines on physical activity recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week, and workplace step-count programmes can contribute meaningfully towards this goal.

Limitations

The study’s relatively small sample size (n = 127) from a single campus limits generalisability. Three days of pedometer data may not fully capture habitual activity patterns, as step counts can vary by day of the week. The study did not assess weekend activity or non-work-related physical activity. Self-report KAP data may be subject to social desirability bias, and the cross-sectional design prevents causal inference about the relationship between knowledge, attitudes, and walking behaviour.