ObjectivesWe examined whether daily physical activity (PA) during compulsory school encourages children to be more physically active during the intervention and 4 years after termination of the programme.MethodsThis prospective controlled intervention study followed the same 124 children (81 children in an intervention group and 43 controls) aged 7.7±0.6 (mean±SD) during a 7-year PA intervention and 4 years after the intervention when the children were 18.7±0.3 years old. The intervention included daily school physical education (PE) (200 min/week), whereas the controls continued with the Swedish standard of 60 min/week. Using a questionnaire, we gathered data about total PA, leisure time PA and sedentary activities (SA). Group comparisons are adjusted for age and gender, and data are provided as means with 95% CIs.ResultsAt baseline, we found similar duration of PA and SA between groups. After a mean of 7 years with intervention, the intervention group was more physically active than the controls (+4.5 (2.9 to 6.0) hours/week), whereas SA was similar (+0.6 (−2.5 to 3.9) hours/week). Four years beyond the intervention, the intervention group was still more physically active than the controls (2.7 (0.8 to 4.7) hours/week), and SA was still similar (−3.9 (−9.7 to 1.7) hours/week).ConclusionsIntervention with daily school PE throughout compulsory school is associated with higher duration of PA not only during the intervention but also 4 years after termination of the programme.
Only one fifth of children aged 11–17 years are physically active for 60 min (min)/day. As physical activity (PA) levels track from childhood to adulthood, it is important to establish healthy PA behavior early in life. This study aims to evaluate whether daily school PA is associated with objectively measured PA independently of other socioecological factors. This study includes 209 children (120 boys) aged 9.8 ± 0.6 (mean ± SD) years from four government-funded schools in Sweden. One school including 113 children (70 boys) had 40 min of daily school PA (intervention) and three schools including 96 children (50 boys) had 60 min of school PA/week (control). PA was measured during four serial days with accelerometers. General PA (GPA) was defined as mean counts per minute (cpm). Socioecological factors were collected by questionnaires, and anthropometric traits by measurements. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test whether sex, age, relative age, body height, fat mass, lean mass, screen time activity, parental educational level, parental attitude towards PA, parental PA, sibling(s)’ PA, living in a house or apartment, and whether the child was allocated to 40 min daily school PA or 60 min school PA/week, was independently associated with GPA. Daily GPA was found to be 686.9 ± 211.9 cpm. Independently of the other included factors, daily school PA was associated with +81.8 (15.7, 147.8) cpm compared with 60 min PA/week. This study infers that daily school PA is an appropriate strategy to promote PA in 10-year-old children, independently of different socioecological factors.
IntroductionIf we can identify factors that influence physical activity (PA) in young years, we can possibly address these to achieve more physically active children. We therefore tried to identify factors, across several domains that in young children was associated with PA.Materials and methodWe assessed in a population based cohort of 341 children (189 boys and 152 girls) aged 7.7±0.6 years (mean ±SD), duration of PA and factors within demographic/biological, psychological/behavioural, social and environmental domains through a questionnaire. Height and weight was measured by standard measurements. We used ANCOVA model to evaluate factors that independently associated with PA.ResultThe factors included in the model explained 21% of the variance in duration of PA (21% in boys and 29% in girls). Parental attitude was the only factor that in all children was independently associated with duration of PA. Children with parents finding PA of importance spent 1.5 (0.6, 2.3) (mean, 95% CI) hours more on PA per week (boys 2.5 (1.1, 3.9) and girls 0.6 (-0.4, 1.5)), than children with parents not regarding PA as being important.ConclusionIn 8 year old children, parental attitude towards PA was in our model the only independent factor associated with duration of PA. It therefore seems reasonable to influence parent’s attitude when designing interventions that aim at improve PA in young children.
IntroductionA majority of children do not reach recommended levels of physical activity (PA). This trend is disquieting since low PA is a risk factor for disease. We examined whether daily PA during compulsory school encourages children to be more physically active, and whether this habit continues into adulthood.Materials and methodsThis prospective controlled study, followed the same 124 children (aged 7.7±0.6; mean ±SD) – 81 children in an intervention group and 43 controls – during a 7 year controlled exercise intervention study, and four years after the intervention. The intervention included daily school PA (200 minutes/week) and controls continued with Swedish standard of 60 minutes PA/week. Using questionnaires, we gathered data about total PA, leisure time PA and sedentary activities (SA). Group comparisons are adjusted for age and gender and data are provided as means with 95% confidence intervals.ResultsAt baseline, we found no statistical significant differences in duration of PA and SA between groups. After seven years, the intervention group were more physically active than controls, whereas SA was similar. Four years beyond the intervention, the intervention group were still more physically active than controls (2.7 (0.8, 4.7) hours/week) whereas SA was still similar (−3.9 (-9.7, 1.7) hours/week).ConclusionIntervention with daily school PA throughout compulsory school is associated with a more physically active lifestyle that remains into young adulthood.
Objectives Evaluate if socioecological and biological factors, at the age of 8 years, are associated with lower level of physical activity (PA) 2 years later. Method In a study cohort of 199 children aged 7.8±0.6 years, we used questionnaires and physical measurements to evaluate biological (eg, sex), social (eg, parental PA) and environmental (eg, school settings) factors. Objective PA was measured 2 years later with accelerometers. General PA (GPA) was defined as mean counts per minute (cpm) and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) as min/day >3500 cpm. We used analysis of covariance to evaluate if socioecological factors at age 8 are associated with level of PA 2 years later. Results Daily GPA was 690.5±216.6 cpm and the children spent 40.9±18.3 min on MVPA. Female sex is associated with −131.1 (−183.4, –78.7) cpm GPA, each 10 cm shorter body height with −48.7 (−94.8, –26.5), each unit higher body mass index (BMI) with −26.0 (−37.5, –14.5) and allocation to 60 min school PA/week with −73.8 (−131.5, –16.2) compared with allocation to 200 min school PA/week. Female sex is associated with −10.3 (−14.8, –5.7) min of MVPA and each unit higher BMI with −1.9 (−2.9, –0.9) min. Conclusion Female sex, shorter body height and higher BMI are at age 8 years associated with lower level of PA 2 years later. It appears possible to increase PA by daily school PA. Trial registration number NCT00633828.
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