Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Physical activity (PA) is presumed to decline during childhood and adolescence, but only few long-term studies about PA development during this period of life exist. We assessed PA and sedentary behavior (SB) over a 5-year period to gain a better understanding of the extent of change in activity and potential influencing factors. METHODS: PA and SB of 600 children from the Childhood Obesity Project were objectively measured with the SenseWear Armband 2 at the ages of 6, 8, and 11 years, resulting in 1254 observations. Longitudinal changes of total PA, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light physical activity (LPA), and SB were modeled with mixed-effects models. RESULTS: Total PA revealed a significant quadratic decline with age (P < .001), resulting in a change of total PA by -75.3 minutes per day from 6 to 11 years. LPA linearly declined (P <.001) by 44.6 minutes per day, MVPA quadratically declined (P <.001) by an overall 30.7 minutes, whereas SB increased significantly (+107 minutes;P =.001). Boys showed a steeper decline in LPA (P =.003) and MVPA (P <.001) than did girls. Higher fat mass index and BMI z scores were associated with lower levels of total PA and MVPA and higher levels of SB (all P <.001). CONCLUSIONS: We showed that PA decreased, and SB increased in earlier years than previously thought. MVPA remained relatively stable until 8 years, but revealed a drop-off at 11 years, identifying this period as a crucial time for intervention.
Item Type: | Journal article |
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Faculties: | Medicine |
Subjects: | 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health |
ISSN: | 0031-4005 |
Language: | English |
Item ID: | 80953 |
Date Deposited: | 15. Dec 2021, 14:55 |
Last Modified: | 15. Dec 2021, 14:55 |