scholarly journals Social and demographic factors of physical activity in 9-11 years old Slovenian children

Kinesiology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-78
Author(s):  
Tanja Jerina ◽  
Tadeja Volmut
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Physical Activity Levels ◽  
Active Commute ◽  
Mother's Educational Level

Factors related to physical behaviour of children are important in understanding the characteristics of their physical activity. Apart from the factors of physical environment, social and demographical factors are also related to physical activity levels. Randomly selected 669 children (9.9±0.8 years; 48.8% boys) from randomly selected Slovenian elementary schools participated in this study. All data were obtained during a single measurement in May 2010. The standardized questionnaire The Quality of Life Survey was used to measure physical activity (PA) levels as well as social and demographic factors which could be associated with it. The results indicated higher PA levels in boys than in girls (704±286 min/week vs. 617±268 min/week; p<.001). The analysis of variance confirmed higher PA levels in girls with parents of a higher socioeconomic status (SES) (p=.0018); in boys, there were no differences in PA levels according SES (p=.580). In both the boys (p=.047) and girls (p=.021) PA levels were higher if their whole family were members of any sport club. However, family structure was not related to PA levels in either boys (p=.648) or girls (p=.132). In boys, the bi-variate regression analysis showed a positive correlation with mother’s educational level (r=.090), with the number of children in the family (r=.150), with the child’s attitude that active commute to school is attractive (r=.108) and that child’s peers actively commute to school (r=.129), whereas a negative correlation was obtained with fear the child would become a victim of violence or harassment on the way to school (r=-.097). In girls, bi-variate regression analysis showed a positive correlation with mother’s educational level (r=.094), with the child’s attitude that active commute to school is attractive (r=.092) and that child’s peers actively commute to school (r=.221), whereas a negative correlation was established with fear the child would become a victim of violence or harassment on the way to school (r=-.061) or at recreational and sporting facilities (r=-.046). According to low correlations in bi-variate analysis, we conclude that other factors, such as, for example, physical environment, might be strongly related to physical activity levels in children and need to be taken into account when preparing interventions for physical activity enhancement.

scholarly journals Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity and Its Impact on Sleep Quality in Persons Suffering From Restless Legs Syndrome

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Reimers ◽  
Verena Heidenreich ◽  
Hans-Joachim Bittermann ◽  
Guido Knapp ◽  
Carl-Detlev Reimers
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Restless Legs Syndrome ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Moderate Physical Activity ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Restless Legs ◽  
Physical Activity Levels ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: Main symptoms of the restless legs syndrome (RLS) are sleep onset insomnia and difficulty to maintain sleep. Previous studies showed that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of developing RLS. However, the relationships of physical activity on sleep quality parameters in subjects suffering from RLS have not been investigated by applying accelerometry. Thus, the present study investigates the impact of physical activity during the day (7-12 h, 12-18 h, 18-23 h) on sleep quality in subject suffering from idiopathic RLS as well as their intensity and extent of physical activity by applying a real-time approach.Methods: In a sample of 47 participants suffering from idiopathic RLS, physical activity and sleep quality were captured over one week by using accelerometers. For data analysis physical activity levels and step counts during three periods of a day (morning, afternoon, evening) were correlated with sleep quality parameters of the following night.Results: In this observational study, significant correlations of physical activity with the sleep parameters were rarely confirmed (exception: negative correlation of steps in the morning with periodic leg movements in sleep and negative correlation of physical activity in the evening and total sleep period). However, the physical activity levels of the participants were unexpectedly high compared to population-level data and variance in physical activity was low. The average activity was 13,817 (SD=4,086) steps and 347 (SD=117) minutes of moderate physical activity per day in females and 10,636 (SD=3,748) steps and 269 (SD=69) minutes of moderate physical activity in males, respectively. However, the participants conducted no vigorous physical activity.Conclusions: To investigate the effects of daily physical activity and RLS symptoms interventional studies with different intensities of physical activities at different points of time during the day are needed.

scholarly journals Relevance of Activity Tracking With Mobile Devices in the Relationship Between Physical Activity Levels and Satisfaction With Physical Fitness in Older Adults: Representative Survey (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Schlomann ◽  
Alexander Seifert ◽  
Christian Rietz
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Activity Tracking ◽  
Physical Activity Levels ◽  
The Relationship

BACKGROUND Physical activity has been shown to positively affect many aspects of life, and the positive relationship between physical activity levels and health is well established. Recently, research on the interrelationship between physical activity levels and subjective experiences has gained attention. However, the underlying mechanisms that link physical activity levels with subjective experiences of physical fitness have not been sufficiently explained. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the role of physical activity tracking (PAT) in the relationship between physical activity levels and satisfaction with physical fitness in older adults. It is hypothesized that higher levels of physical activity are associated with a higher satisfaction with physical fitness in older adults and that this positive association is stronger for older people who use mobile devices for PAT. METHODS As part of this study, 1013 participants aged 50 years or older and living in Switzerland were interviewed via computer-assisted telephone interviews. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were applied. The interaction effects between physical activity levels and PAT were evaluated using multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS Descriptive analyses showed that 719 participants used at least 1 mobile device and that 136 out of 719 mobile device users (18.9%) used mobile devices for PAT. In the multivariate regression analysis, frequent physical activity was found to have a positive effect on satisfaction with physical fitness (beta=.24, P<.001). A significant interaction effect between physical activity levels and PAT (beta=.30, P=.03) provides some first evidence that the positive effects of physical activity on satisfaction with physical fitness can be enhanced by PAT. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate the potential of PAT to enhance the physical fitness of older adults. However, the results also raise new issues in this context. Recommendations for further research and practice include the acquisition of longitudinal data, a more detailed observation of durations of use, and the development of devices for PAT considering health psychology and gerontology theories.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document