Duration and intensity of different types of physical activity among children aged 10–13 years

Abstract

Objectives To use a predominately objective measurement approach to assess and describe: (1) the amount of time that children aged 10-13 years spend participating in outdoor active play, active travel, curriculum-based physical activity at school, and organized sport; (2) the movement intensity composition of these four types of physical activity (i.e., % of time spent at a sedentary, light, or moderate-tovigorous intensity); and (3) the proportion of each movement intensity obtained by participating in these four types of physical activity. Methods Three hundred seventy-seven children aged 10-13 years from Kingston, Canada, were studied. Children wore an accelerometer and GPS watch for 7 days and recorded the start and end times of the school day, recess periods, and organized sport sessions on a log. These data were used to estimate time spent in the four types of physical activity and the movement intensity composition of these activities. Results Time spent in outdoor active play (36 min/day) and organized sport (40 min/day) was higher than that for active travel (17 min/day) and curriculum-based physical activity (26 min/day). With the exception of organized sport, values were higher for boys than for girls. Older children accumulated less outdoor active play and more active travel than younger children. The greatest proportion of light-and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity movement was attributed to outdoor active play. Conclusion We used a primarily objective measurement approach to assess and describe the amount of time children aged 10-13 participate in four types of physical activity. These descriptive findings could be used to identify target areas for physical activity interventions and policies. Résumé Objectifs Employer une stratégie de mesure principalement objective pour évaluer et décrire : 1) le temps consacré par des enfants de 10 à 13 ans au jeu actif à l'extérieur, au transport actif, à l'activité physique prévue au programme scolaire et au sport organisé, 2) la composition de ces quatre types d'activité physique du point de vue de leur intensité de mouvement (c.-à-d. le pourcentage du temps consacré aux activités sédentaires, légères ou d'intensité modérée à vigoureuse) et 3) la proportion de chaque intensité de mouvement obtenue en participant à ces quatre types d'activité physique. Méthode En tout, 377 enfants de 10 à 13 ans vivant à Kingston, au Canada, ont été étudiés. Les enfants ont porté un accéléromètre et une montre GPS pendant 7 jours et ont inscrit dans un journal les heures de début et de fin de leur journée scolaire, de leurs récréations et de leurs séances de sport organisé. Ces données ont servi à estimer la durée des quatre types d'activité physique et la composition de ces activités du point de vue de leur intensité de mouvement. Résultats Le temps consacré au jeu actif à l'extérieur (36 minutes/jour) et au sport organisé (40 minutes/jour) était supérieur au temps consacré au transport actif (17 minutes/jour) et à l'activité physique prévue au programme (26 minutes/jour). Sauf ...

What Is the Relationship between the Neighbourhood Built Environment and Time Spent in Outdoor Play? A Systematic Review

“…One of the most robust findings links time spent in outdoor play to physical activity, indicating that children playing outside are more physically active and less sedentary than when indoors [5,6]. A study of 10–13-year-old children and adolescents found that outdoor play contributed 36 min/day to physical activity, versus 40 min/day for organized sports, 17 min/day for active travel and 26 min/day for curriculum based physical activity [7]. Outdoor play has further been associated with motor, visual, and cognitive development, socio-emotional learning and mental health [8,9,10,11].…”

Effects of trees, gardens, and trails on heat index and child health: Design and methods of the Green Schoolyards Project

“…On study days during recess (i.e., 30-minute period of unstructured play under teacher supervision), the cohort sample wore elastic belts around their waist equipped with a Qstarz BT-Q1000XT Global Positioning System (GPS) device (Qstarz Intl Co., Taipei, Taiwan) and an Actigraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer (ActiGraph LLC, FL) to measure geographic location and physical activity levels, over time (38,39). We set sampling rates of 15 seconds for GPS devices and accelerometers (40,41).…”

“…The location of green features will be joined to the time-matched device data, within GIS. Although previous studies have matched children's geographic location and physical activity levels over time (38)(39)(40)(41), this study enables assessment of a child's experienced heat index and physical activity level at any particular location.…”

Effects of trees, gardens, and nature trails on heat index and child health: Design and methods of the Green Schoolyards Project

“…On study days during recess (i.e., 30-minute period of unstructured play under teacher supervision), the cohort sample wore elastic belts around their waist equipped with a Qstarz BT-Q1000XT Global Positioning System (GPS) device (Qstarz Intl Co., Taipei, Taiwan) and an Actigraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer (ActiGraph LLC, FL) to measure geographic location and physical activity levels, over time (45,46). We set sampling rates of 15 seconds for GPS devices and accelerometers (47,48).…”

“…The location of green features will be joined to the time-matched device data, within GIS. Although previous studies have matched children' s geographic location and physical activity levels over time (45)(46)(47)(48), this study enables assessment of a child' s experienced heat index and physical activity level at any particular location.…”