scholarly journals Accelerometer measured physical activity patterns of children during segmented school day in Abu Dhabi

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahma Ajja ◽  
Ludmilla F. Wikkeling-Scott ◽  
Keith Brazendale ◽  
Rafiq Hijazi ◽  
Abdishakur Abdulle

Abstract Background The overwhelming majority of United Arab Emirates (UAE) school-aged children do not meet the 60 min per day recommendation of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Understanding the different school day segments contribution to children reaching this goal is a crucial step toward developing successful strategies to promote school day MVPA levels. This study aimed to objectively measure children’s’ physical activity levels and to examine the difference in physical activity levels between high active and low active children during the school day in Abu Dhabi. Methods A total of 133 school children (56% boys; mean age 10.5 years; grades 4–7) from two elementary schools in Abu Dhabi wore accelerometers (ActiGraph GT9X Link) for up to 5 non-consecutive days during spring 2019. Children’s’ MVPA was estimated during the following school segments: class time, lunch, recess, physical education (PE), and whole school day. Children were stratified as “high active” meeting the ≥30 min/day MVPA school time guideline or “low active” accumulating < 30 min/day MVPA. Results On average children accumulated 21.8 ± 22.6 min/day of MVPA on PE days and 22.4 ± 15.9 min/day of MVPA on non-PE days. Only 19% of children met the 30 min or more of school day MVPA recommendation, with higher proportion of boys (27%) meeting such recommendation compared to girls (8%). High active boys, spent the highest percent of time in MVPA during PE (28%), followed closely by lunch (27%). In compression, high active girls spent the highest percent of time in MVPA during lunch (14.2%) followed by recess (9.1%). High active children accumulated 15.06 more minutes of MVPA during PE (p < 0.001), 2 more minutes during recess (p < 0.001), 3 more minutes of MVPA during lunch (p < 0.001) and 5 more minutes of MVPA during class time (p < 0.001). Conclusion The overwhelming majority of school children did not meet the recommended 30 min /day MVPA during school time. Girls substantially accumulated less MVPA and more sedentary minutes across all segments during the school days compared to boys. Further research is needed to investigate school day segments contribution to children MVPA in the UAE.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (21_suppl) ◽  
pp. 38-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Hai Deng ◽  
Per Morten Fredriksen

Aims: The objective was to investigate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels (MVPA) of primary school children at baseline of the Health Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP), Norway. Methods: Data on 2123 children aged 6–12 years were included for analysis (75% participation rate). Average minutes per day in MVPA was objectively measured using accelerometry based on seven-day averages. The sample was analysed for age-, sex-, socioeconomic-, and season-related patterns. A linear regression investigated the moderating effect of these factors as well as body mass index and waist circumference. Results: Some 86.5% of the sample had at least 60 min/day MVPA, averaging 90.7 min/day. The main differences in daily averages were between age groups 6½–9 and 10–12 ( p < .05). Boys (95.8 min/day, 95% CI: 94.1–97.5) were more active than girls (85.6 min/day, 95% CI: 83.9–87.2) in all age groups ( p < .0001). MVPA was lower by 3.5 min ( p < .0001) per additional year of age in the linear regression (R2 = 0.176) and was reduced by 20 min less per day in MVPA in the winter months compared with the summer months ( p < .0001). Conclusions: Physical activity levels are already in decline from 6–7 years old and are likely to continue to decline into adolescence. Interventions must therefore focus on primary school children.



2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Lena Zimmo ◽  
Fuad Almudahka ◽  
Izzeldin Ibrahim ◽  
Mohamed G. Al-kuwari ◽  
Abdulaziz Farooq

Purpose: Schools provide opportunities for children to accumulate recommended daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). This study aimed to determine physical activity (PA) across the school day among elementary school children in Qatar. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 181 Grade 1 (5.8 ± 0.4 years) and Grade 4 (9.0 ± 0.5 years) children. Participants wore wrist-based accelerometers for 5 days to assess school-based PA. MVPA during physical education, recess, and class time were compared across sex, grade, and body mass index using general linear models. Results: Only 39.0% of this cohort met the recommended 30 min of MVPA during school hours. Fewer girls (23.2%) than boys (58.1%) achieved the school-based PA guidelines (p < .001). The children engaged in 19.0 ± 12.3%, 19.3 ± 8.6%, and 6.2 ± 3.4% of the designated physical education, recess, and class time in MVPA, respectively. Conclusion: Elementary school children in Qatar engage in inadequate MVPA during the school day, especially girls. Enhancing PA opportunities during physical education and recess is crucial.



2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola D. Ridgers ◽  
Gareth Stratton

Recess offers primary school age children the opportunity to engage in physical activity, though few studies have detailed the physical activity levels of children in this environment. The physical activity levels of 270 children ages 6-11 years from 18 schools were monitored on 1 school day using heart rate telemetry. Data revealed that boys engaged in higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) than did girls during recess (26 and 20 min, respectively). These results suggest that recess can make a worthwhile contribution to the recommended 60 min of MVPA per day.



2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zan Gao ◽  
Zachary Pope ◽  
Jung Eun Lee ◽  
David Stodden ◽  
Nida Roncesvalles ◽  
...  


Kinesiology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Mayorga Vega ◽  
Jesús Viciana

Regular physical activity is an important factor of health in youth. Unfortunately, in Chile 85% of adolescents do not achieve the 60 min daily recommendation of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Physical education, school recess and after-school time are considered crucial environments for adolescents to meet the recommended moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels. This study compared the moderateto-vigorous physical activity levels between physical education, school recess and after-school time in Chilean secondary school students, and examined the influence of gender and weight status. A hundred and fifty-six Chilean secondary school students (finally 89 participants were included), aged 13-14 years, were monitored by objective measures of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during physical education, school recess and after-school time. Results indicated statistically significant differences in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity between contexts (total minutes: After-school time&gt;physical education&gt;school recess; percentage: Physical education&gt;after-school time=school recess, p&lt;.001) as well as a gender-related influence (boys&gt;girls, p&lt;.05). Policy-makers are encouraged to increase the number of physical education classes and teachers to ensure that more physical education class time is spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, especially among girls. The increase in students’ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels during school recess and after-school time should also be promoted.



2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Gehris ◽  
Elizabeth Myers ◽  
Robert Whitaker

Adventure-physical education has been proposed to promote adolescents’ physical development, but little is known about physical activity levels during such lessons. Using the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time, we observed students’ (ages 11–14 years) physical activity levels in co-educational classes during 43 adventure-physical education lessons at seven public schools. The mean percentage (±SD) of time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was 28.3% (±16.3%). The greatest percentage of lesson time was spent in two activities—high elements (24.1% ± 36.5%) and initiatives (22.3% ± 32.4%). When data were aggregated across all lessons, 40.0% of the time in high elements and 13.7% of the time in initiatives was spent in MVPA. Of all MVPA time, 31.5% occurred in high elements and another 12.6% in initiatives. Compared with traditional physical education lessons, less time is spent in MVPA during adventure lessons. Efforts to increase MVPA should target high elements and initiative activities.



2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Issad Baddou ◽  
Asmaa El Hamdouchi ◽  
Imane El Harchaoui ◽  
Kaoutar Benjeddou ◽  
Naima Saeid ◽  
...  

Background. Regular physical activity in childhood and adolescent plays an important role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular health diseases, diabetes, and obesity in adulthood. However, little is known about physical activity levels (PA) and sedentary time among children and adolescents in Morocco. Objective. To examine gender, type of day, and age grade differences in objectively measured sedentary time, physical activity levels, and physical activity guideline attainment among children and adolescents in Morocco. Method. 172 children/adolescents (mean age = 10.92 ± 1.55 years, 49.4% are boys) were recruited for this study and wore a tri-axial accelerometer (GT3X+) for 7 consecutive days. Time spent in sedentary, PA levels, and daily steps were measured and compared according to gender, age grade, and the type of day (weekdays/weekends). Results. In weekdays children/adolescents spent more time in sedentary than weekends (p < 0.001). Boys were eight times more likely to meet the recommendation for at least 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day than girls (OR: 8.569; 95% [CI]: 4.23–17.32), p < 0.001. Conclusion. These findings highlight the need for effective and sustainable strategies and programs aiming to promote physical activity and to reduce sedentary behavior among children and adolescents in Morocco.



PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Xu ◽  
Minghui Quan ◽  
Hanbin Zhang ◽  
Chenglin Zhou ◽  
PeiJie Chen

Purpose This study examined the associations of physical activity levels between parents and their pre-school children based on gender and weekday/weekend. Method A total of 247 parent-preschool child triads from Shanghai, China were analyzed. The children had a mean age of 57.5 ± 5.2 months. Both sedentary behavior and physical activity were measured in all participants using an ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer over seven consecutive days from Monday through the following Sunday. A multivariate regression model was derived to identify significant relationships between parental and child physical activity according to gender and weekday/weekend. Results There was a significant correlation between mothers’ and girls’ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and total physical activity (TPA) on weekdays. Fathers’ MPVA levels correlated significantly with those of boys and girls, with paternal influence appearing to be stronger than maternal influence. However, there was not a significant correlation between fathers’ and children’s TPA. TPA levels of both mothers and fathers correlated with those of girls, but not with those of boys. Parental sedentary levels on the weekend correlated significantly with girls’ levels, but not with boys’ levels. Children’s physical activity levels on weekends were influenced more by fathers’ activity levels than by mothers’, while the opposite was observed on weekdays. Conclusion Sedentary behavior and physical activity levels of parents can strongly influence those of their preschool children, with maternal influence stronger during the weekdays and paternal influence stronger on the weekends. Parents’ activity levels influence girls’ levels more strongly than they influence boys’ levels.



2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip W. Scruggs ◽  
Sandy K. Beveridge ◽  
Doris L. Watson

Fifth-grade students’ physical activity levels were examined via heart rate telemetry and pedometry during school fitness and recess breaks. Twenty-seven students with a mean age of 11.03 (-.32) years participated in morning recess (MR), lunch recess (LR), and fitness breaks (FB) for three days. Structured FB’s consisted of students engaging in locomotor and nonlocomotor activities within an obstacle course framework, while recess breaks followed a traditional model. Results from repeated measures ANOVAs indicated students engaged in significantly more physical activity during FB than MR and LR. Fitness breaks provided a viable method for increasing children’s school time activity levels.



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