The relationship between children's habitual activity level and psychological well‐being

Abstract

Aim: To explore the relationship between habitual physical activity and psychological well‐being in children. Methods: Seventy children (35 boys, 35 girls), age 10.4±0.4 y, wore hip pedometers over a period of 7 d. Well‐being was conceptualized as the presence of global self‐esteem and the absence of anxiety and depression and assessed with the use of three questionnaires. Results: Correlation analyses revealed that habitual physical activity had a strong association with global self‐esteem (r=0.66), depression (r=−0.60) and anxiety (r=−0.48). However, using partial correlations, the significant relationships were removed for anxiety and depression, but remained for self‐esteem (r=0.36). When groups were created based upon activity level, children achieving >12 000 steps/day had more positive psychological profiles than children achieving <9200 steps/day. Conclusion: The results support the findings from previous studies that have explored the relationship between physical activity and well‐being, but represent the first to use a mechanical measure of physical activity over a 7‐d period to assess the relationships. The actual step counts associated with more positive psychological well‐being can be shown to be in line with the recommended guidelines that children accumulate a minimum of 60 min of moderate‐intensity activity per day.

Aspects of self differ among physically active and inactive youths

“…We found that physical activity per week is connected with higher levels of positive aspects of self (positive selfesteem, self-liking, self-competence, and self-efficacy) and with lower levels of negative aspects (negative selfesteem). These findings are in line with previous studies on adolescent girls and boys (White et al 2009;Annesi 2006;Parfitt and Eston, 2005). Our findings suggest that frequent physical activity was connected with feelings of self-worth (self-esteem, self-liking) and personal efficacy (general or social), which might imply that active engagement in regular physical activity during school or leisure time could improve the way youths perceive themselves.…”

“…It has been repeatedly associated with health-related behaviors, e.g. physical activity in past research (White et al 2009;Krahnstoever Davisona et al 2007;Schmalz et al 2007;Levy and Ebbeck 2005;Parfitt and Eston 2005). Mentioned studies confirmed a connection between physical activity and higher self-esteem.…”

“…Previous studies have shown that regular physical activity among adolescents can contribute to both their physical health and their psychological and social well-being (Iannotti et al 2009;Schmalz et al 2007;Tessier et al 2007;Parfitt and Eston, 2005). In addition, physical activity during early adolescence has been shown to persist from adolescence into adulthood (Hallal et al 2006).…”

Predictors of quality of life in children

“…The frequency, duration and intensity of physical activity necessary to confer these various benefits in children remain the subject of debate, although the general consensus is for children and youth to accumulate an average of at least 60 minutes per day and up to several hours of at least moderate intensity, and aerobic activities should make up the majority of the physical activity (Jansen & Leblanc, 2010). The majority of the evidences for the psychological benefits on physical activity in children is based upon single physical activity sessions or cross sectional (self-report) studies, there is a recognized need to consider the effect of habitual physical activity on children's quality of life (Parfit & Eston, 2005). Previous studies have shown that lifestyles are associated with mental and health status, as well as HRQoL in adults, but there is no consensus about the effect of Physical activity on the different determinants of HRQoL in children (Chen et al, 2005).…”

Sports examination for children and adolescents

“…Leitthema Selbstbestimmte körperliche Aktivität und sportliche Betätigung gelten als wesentliche Faktoren der gesunden physischen und psychischen Entwicklung im Kindes-und Jugendalter [6,26,36]. 75% der 3-bis 10-jährigen Kinder in Deutschland treiben einoder mehrmals pro Woche Sport [27].…”