Gender and grade differences in objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns among Japanese children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundPhysical activity levels in childhood have decreased, making the promotion of children’s physical activity an important issue. The present study examined gender and grade differences in objectively measured sedentary behavior, physical activity, and physical activity guideline attainment among Japanese children and adolescents.MethodsIn total, 329 boys and 362 girls age 3–15 years completed the survey. School grade, gender, height, and weight were collected by questionnaires and physical activity objectively measured using an accelerometer (Lifecorder Suzuken Co.). Physical activity level (in MET) was classified as sedentary (<1.5), light (≥1.5 to <3), moderate (≥3 to <6), or vigorous (≥6). Continuous zero accelerometer counts for ≥20 min were censored and a valid accelerometry study required at least 3 days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend day) with > 600 min/day total wear time. Two-way analysis of covariance and logistic regression analyses, adjusted for weight status and accelerometer wear time, were used to examine gender and grade differences in physical activity variables and the likelihood of physical activity guideline attainment by gender and grade level.ResultsParticipants were sedentary 441.4 (SD, 140.1) min/day or 53.7 % of the average daily accelerometer wear time of 811.2 (118.7) min, engaged in light physical activity 307.1 (70.0) min or 38.4 % of wear time, moderate physical activity 34.6 (14.8) min (4.3 %), vigorous physical activity 28.3 (19.1) min (3.6 %), and took 12462.6 (4452.5) steps/day. Boys were more physically active and took more steps/day than girls. Students in higher grades were less active than those in lower grades. Boys were significantly more likely to meet physical activity guidelines than girls (OR: 2.07, 95 % CI: 1.45–2.96). Preschoolers (6.66, 4.01–11.06), lower-grade elementary school students (17.11, 8.80–33.27), and higher-grade elementary school students (7.49, 4.71–11.92) were more likely to meet guidelines than junior high school students.ConclusionsBoys and lower-grade students engaged in more physical activity and were more likely to attain guidelines than girls and higher-grade students. These findings highlight the need for effective and sustainable strategies to promote physical activity in Japanese school children.

Classroom-Based Physical Activity: Minimizing Disparities in School-Day Physical Activity Among Elementary School Students

“…The drop in PA levels from childhood to adolescence is well documented and may begin as early as elementary school. 43,[45][46][47] The current cross-sectional data also indicate that fewer school-day steps are accrued by fifth-grade students than by first-grade students. However, we found a significant grade-level interaction with levels of CBPA on step counts.…”

Proportion of children meeting recommendations for 24-hour movement guidelines and associations with adiposity in a 12-country study

“…MVPA only accounts for a small proportion (<5%) of the 24-h period, with the remaining 95% dedicated to sleep, sedentary behavior and light-intensity activities [2]. Although there is no clear consensus about how to define light-intensity activities by accelerometry [37, 38], some studies indicate that most children spend a large proportion of their awake time being active at low levels of intensity [39–41], especially girls [40]. Although it is beyond the scope of this article, we also examined the associations of light-intensity physical activity and total sedentary time with BMI z-scores and only found weak associations ( r  = 0.03 and r  = 0.08, respectively).…”

Relationship between sports experience and executive function in 6–12‐year‐old children: independence from physical fitness and moderation by gender

“…Levels 4 to 9 reflect a moderate-to-vigorous intensity level of physical activity (Ishii, Shibata, Adachi, Nonoue, & Oka, 2015;Kumahara et al, 2004). The Lifecorder is a small device worn at the waist that measures physical activity level and physical activity-related energy expenditure; it is a well-accepted measure of total daily physical activity in both children and adults.…”

“…The Lifecorder records acceleration along a longitudinal axis every 4 s and categorizes the intensity into 10 levels (0 and 1-9; level 0 corresponds to 0.06 g-force) every 2 min. Levels 4 to 9 reflect a moderate-to-vigorous intensity level of physical activity(Ishii, Shibata, Adachi, Nonoue, & Oka, 2015;Kumahara et al, 2004).…”