Context matters! sources of variability in weekend physical activity among families: a repeated measures study

Abstract

BackgroundFamily involvement is an essential component of effective physical activity (PA) interventions in children. However, little is known about the PA levels and characteristics of PA among families. This study used a repeated measures design and multiple data sources to explore the variability and characteristics of weekend PA among families.MethodsFamilies (including a ‘target’ child aged 9–11 years, their primary caregiver(s) and siblings aged 6–8 years) were recruited through primary schools in Liverpool, UK. Participants completed a paper-based PA diary and wore an ActiGraph GT9X accelerometer on their left wrist for up to 16 weekend days. ActiGraph.csv files were analysed using the R-package GGIR version 1.1–4. Mean minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) for each weekend of measurement were calculated using linear mixed models, and variance components were estimated for participant (inter-individual), weekend of measurement, and residual error (intra-individual). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated from the proportion of total variance accounted for by inter-individual sources, and used as a measure of reliability. Diary responses were summed to produce frequency counts. To offer contextual insight into weekend PA among family units, demographic, accelerometer, and diary data were combined to form two case studies representative of low and high active families.ResultsTwenty-five participants from 7 families participated, including 7 ‘target’ children (mean age 9.3 ± 1.1 years, 4 boys), 6 siblings (mean age 7.2 ± 0.7 years; 4 boys) and 12 adults (7 mothers and 5 fathers). There was a high degree of variability in target children’s (ICC = 0.55), siblings (ICC = 0.38), and mothers’ MVPA (ICC = 0.58), but not in fathers’ MVPA (ICC = 0.83). Children’s weekend PA was mostly unstructured in nature and undertaken with friends, whereas a greater proportion of parents’ weekend PA was undertaken alone in structured settings. The family case studies demonstrated that in the selected cases MVPA levels and variability across weekends were contingent on mode of PA participation.ConclusionsThese novel findings enhance understanding of the variability and characteristics of weekend PA among family units. The study demonstrates the utility of PA diaries in conjunction with accelerometers to provide understanding of the mode and contexts of out-of-school and family-based PA.

Putting the Individual into Reliability: Bayesian Testing of Homogeneous Within-Person Variance in Hierarchical Models

“…For example, an excellent paper by Koo and Li (2016) provides guidelines for selecting and reporting ICCs but it did not mention the implication of "Mean Squared Within" in an ANOVA framework, which is equivalent to σ 2 1 in Equation 1. Of course, the ICC is often used descriptively (e.g., Noonan, Fairclough, Knowles, & Boddy, 2017) and assumptions are more important for significance tests (Bartlett & Frost, 2008). However, if there are notable deviations from the average, we argue that the estimate of reliability should account for this variation.…”

One Size Does Not Fit All: Contextualising Family Physical Activity Using a Write, Draw, Show and Tell Approach

“…Two families comprising of a “target” child aged 9–11 years, sibling aged 6–8 years, and mother were recruited through primary schools in Liverpool, U. K. The families were purposefully selected and invited to take part in the present study based on their demographic and PA data collected as part of a larger study (see [ 34 ]). The families were selected to represent diverse family structures and contrasting PA behaviour patterns to demonstrate the limitations of a “one-size-fits-all” approach to family-based PA promotion and intervention programming.…”

“…PA methods have been reported in full elsewhere (see [ 34 ]). Briefly, participants completed a paper-based PA diary and wore an ActiGraph GT9X (ActiGraph, Pensacola, FL, USA) accelerometer on their left wrist during waking hours for seven consecutive days.…”

Characteristics of Weekend Activities in Greater Jakarta

“…According to Noonan et al in 2017 [7], family involvement was an important component to effectively encourage physical activities for children. The likelihood to involve in weekend sports activities was strongly affected by parental encouragement, e.g.…”

“…According to Habib [1] in 2010, people might conduct various activities during weekend, e.g. : (1) basic needs, such as take a nap, dealing with laundry, dress up, tidying up the house, having lunch, having dinner and breakfast, (2) working/ studying including telework, voluntary work, training, etc., (3) household duties such as cleaning, childcare, animal-care, etc., (4) deliver/ pick-up passengers, meals, snacks, video rental, sending mail, etc., (5) shopping activities such as buying groceries, personal needs, etc., (6) service activities such as health-care/ hospital, personal care, banking, religious activities, vehicle-care, etc., (7) recreational and leisure activities, (8) social activities including visiting/ treating guests in a club, social event planning, lengthy telephone call, etc., and (9) other activities.…”