Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.

This study analyzed the relationships hypothesized by the Theory of Achievement Objectives in physical education classes and school satisfaction in the prediction of attitudes (the taste for physical activity and self-efficacy) and the level of physical activity of adolescents from two secondary schools. 624 adolescents (326 boys) participated, aged between 14 and 17 years old from two schools in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Several questionnaires were used as an instrument. Linear regression analysis stratified by school was performed, testing three models hierarchically. Most students did not meet the recommendations for physical activity (<60 min / day) and showed moderate effectiveness, with no significant difference between schools. There was a difference between schools regarding the taste for physical activity (p = 0.001), school satisfaction (p = 0.007), the mastery objective (p <.001), the social approval objective (p = 0.002), the mastery climate (p <0.001) and the performance-approximation climate (0.001). In conclusion, the model that included the motivational climate, school satisfaction and achievement objectives, proved to be the most adequate to predict the physical activity of students from both schools.

The papers published in the present supplement were submitted to the Scientific Commission of I CINAPSE - "I International Conference of Physical Activity and Health Promotion at School" held on November 17 to 19th, 2016, at the State University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará-Brazil.

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