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Objective measurement of levels and patterns of physical activity
Author(s) -
Reading Richard
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
child: care, health and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2214
pISSN - 0305-1862
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00831_2.x
Subject(s) - physical activity , medicine , longitudinal study , cohort , demography , cohort study , pediatrics , physical therapy , pathology , sociology
Objective measurement of levels and patterns of physical activity.
Riddoch C.J. , Mattocks C. , Deere K. , Saunders J. , Kirkby J. , Tilling K. , Leary S.D. , Blair S.N. & Ness A.R.(2007)Archives of Disease in Childhood,92,963–969.DOI: 10.1136/adc.2006.112136.Objective To measure the levels and patterns of physical activity, using accelerometers, of 11‐year‐old children participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Design Cross‐sectional analysis. Setting The ALSPAC is a birth cohort study located in the former county of Avon, in the south‐west of England. This study used data collected when the children were 11 years old. Participants A total of 5595 children (2662 boys, 2933 girls). The children are the offspring of women recruited to a birth cohort study during 1991–1992. The median age (95% CI) of the children is now 11.8 (11.6–11.9) years. Methods Physical activity was measured over a maximum of seven consecutive days using the MTI Actigraph accelerometer. Main outcome measures Level and pattern of physical activity. Results The median physical activity level was 580 counts/min. Boys were more active than girls [median (IQR) 644 (528–772) counts/min vs. 529 (444–638) counts/min, respectively]. Only 2.5% (95% CI 2.1% to 2.9%) of children [boys 5.1% (95% CI 4.3% to 6.0%), girls 0.4% (95% CI 0.2% to 0.7%)] met current internationally recognized recommendations for physical activity. Children were most active in summer and least active in winter (difference = 108 counts/min). Both the mother and partner's education level were inversely associated with activity level [ P for trend <0.001 (both mother and partner)]. The association was lost for mother's education ( P for trend = 0.07) and attenuated for partner's education ( P for trend = 0.02), after adjustment for age, sex, season, maternal age and social class. Conclusions A large majority of children are insufficiently active, according to current recommended levels for health.