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Children's Frequency of Participation in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activities a
a
a
a
Bruce G. Simons-Morton , Nancy M. O'hara , Guy S. Parcel , Iris Wei Huang , Tom b
Baranowski & Brad Wilson
c
a
Center for Health Promotion Research and Development , School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center , Houston , Texas , USA b
Georgia Prevention Institute, Medical College of Georgia Augusta , USA
c
Biostatistics , Washington University , St. Louis , Missouri , USA Published online: 08 Feb 2013.
To cite this article: Bruce G. Simons-Morton , Nancy M. O'hara , Guy S. Parcel , Iris Wei Huang , Tom Baranowski & Brad Wilson (1990) Children's Frequency of Participation in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activities, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 61:4, 307-314, DOI: 10.1080/02701367.1990.10607492 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02701367.1990.10607492
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SIMONs-MORTON, BARANOWSKI,
O'HARA, PARCEL,
HUANG, AND WILSON
REsEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCSB AND SPORT
1990, VOL. 61, No.4, pp. 307-314
Children's Frequency of Participation in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activities BRUCE G. SIMONS-MORTON, NANCY M. O'HARA, GUY S. PARCEL, AND IRIS WEI HUANG University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston TOM BARANOWSKI Medical College of Georgia
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BRAD WILSON Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Third andfourth grade boys (n = 422) and girls (n = 390) in four Texas elementary schools reported their participation in moderate to vigorous physical activities (MVPAs) over a 3 -day period. Students were surveyed during class on successive days. On a subsample (n = 44), the agreement between reported and observed physical activities during physical education or recess was 86.3%. Running, walking fast, games and sports, and bicycling accounted for 70% ofTotal MVPAs. OfTotal MVPAs reported, 47.0% for boys and 44.6% for girls were 10 min or longer in duration (LMVPA). The average number ofLMVPAs per day was 1.7 for both boys and girls. Students reported significantly more occurrences ofLMVPAs out ofschool than during school. Significan: interaction between grade and gender indicated that third grade boys reported more Total MVPAs and LMVPAs than third grade girls, but fourth grade boys reported fewer Total MVPAs and LMVPAs than fourth grade girls. During the 3 -day reporting period, 12.3% ofboys and 13.3% ofgirls reported no LMVPAs, and 35.6% ofboys and girls reported fewer than one LMVPAs per day. While the majority ofchildren reported obtaining at least some activity daily, a substantial proportion ofchildren in this sample reported fewer than one LMVPA daily, indicating that many children may not be obtaining adequate amounts ofphysical activity.
Key words: children, physical activity, physical education
An increase in children's participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is a recognized public health goal (USDHHS, 1986). Surprisingly little is known, however, about children's physical activity patterns. The purposeof this study, conductedas the baselinesurveyfor an interventionstudy (parcel et al., 1987),was to assess the type and frequency of participation in MVPA of third and fourth gradechildrenin fourTexas City, Texas, elementaryschools. Regular participation in work-time and leisure-time physicalactivitybyadultsisassociated withincreasedlongevity (Blairet al., 1989;Paffenbarger,Hyde,Wing, & Hsieh, 1986)
and decreased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) (paffenbarger & Hyde, 1984;Powell,Thompson,Caspersen, & Kendrick, 1987). While 50% to 60% of North American adults report obtaining some physical activity, only 21% are activeregularly;30%or morearesedentary(Stephens.Jacobs, & White, 1985).Caspersen,Christenson,and Pollard (1986) reportedthat7% ofU'S. adultsengageinphysicalactivitythat meets the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for adults (ACSM, 1980), which call for the maintenance of 60% or more of maximum heart rate reserve in rhythmic activity for 20-30 min, three to four times a week. Physicalactivityby children is inverselyassociatedwith blood pressure (Strazzullo et al., 1988), serum lipoproteins (except HDL, with which physical activity is positively associated) (Durant, Linder, & Mahoney, 1983), and obesity (Clark & Blair, 1988; Walberg & Ward, 1985).These associations are particularly important because these CHD risk factors trackovertime(Freedman, Shear,Shrinivasan,Webber, & Berenson, 1985; Lauer, Lee, & Clarke, 1989). Physical activity during childhood, however, is of interest to public health not only because of its concurrent relationships with riskfactors,butalsobecauseof itspossibleinfluenceonfuture adult participation in physical activity. Presumably, active children will develop skills, enjoyment, and habits that will increasethe likelihoodthat they willbe activeas adults(Blair, Clark, Cureton, & Powell, 1989; Ross & Gilbert, 1985; Simons-Morton, O'Hara, Simons-Morton, & Parcel, 1987; Simons-Morton, Parcel, O'Hara, Blair, & Pate, 1988). Relative to adults, preadolescentchildren are known to have high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness as measuredby VOzmax (Krahenbuhl,Skinner, & Kohrt, 1985;Pate & Blair, 1978).Children's high levels of fitness may be naturalor the result of high levels of physical activity. Preadolescentchildrenare thought to be quiteactive,but data are not available to support the contention that children
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are sufficientlyactive toaccount for theirgenerallyhighlevels of cardiorespiratory fitness. The primary importance of programs to encourage increases in MVPA by preadolescent children, however, is based on the rationale that lifetime habits of participation in regular physical activity should begin early in life and be carried over into adulthood. The optimal amount of vigorous physical activity for children is unknown,but experts recommend at least some MVPA daily (Haskell,Montoye, & Orenstein, 1985;Simons-Mortonetal., 1988). The few published studies of the extent and nature of children's physical activity are difficult to interpret due to differences in subjects, methods, analyses, and defmitions of MVPAMacConnie,Gilliam,Geenen,andPels(1982)reported that a sample of7-year-old children had a one-day average of 49 minutes :2:140 b-mirr'. In a study of daily heart rates of 67 year-oldchildren,Gilliam,Freedson,Geenen,andShahraray (1981) reported that out of 720 min, boys raised their heart rates to :2:140 b-mirr' a total of 56.2 min, and girls raised their heart rate to :2:140 b-mhr' a total of 29.6 min. Baranowski, Tsong,Hooks.Cieslik.and Nader(1987)observedthephysical activityof third to fifth grade children (N = 24) and foundthat 10.4% of children engaged in at least one MVPA daily accordingto a strict definitionof aerobic (20continuousmin), and 47.9% engaged in at least one MVPA less strictly defined (continuousbut with occasional breaks in intensityduring 14min periods). The duration of the average bout of physical activity less strictly defmed was 61 to 71 min. In the National Children and Youth Fitness Study (NCYFS) (Ross & Gilbert, 1985), a national survey that assessed children's self-reported physical activity, 56.1% of fifthand sixthgradeboysand49.1%of girlsreportedengaging in potentially aerobic physical activities for at least 20 min three times or more per week, year round. The NCYFS provides the only national survey data available on physical activity patterns of children. Major findings of the NCYFS were that the average child obtained more physical activity away from school than at school, older children reported fewer activities than younger children, and the percent of children receiving physical education and the amount of physical education they received was greater in elementary than secondaryschool. Neither the NCYFS nor other studies, unfortunately, have reported the frequency of children's participation in vigorous physical activity. The presentresearchfocusedon thetype,location,average daily number, and frequency of participation in MVPA by preadolescent children.
Method Sample Thirdandfourthgradestudentsinfourelementaryschools in the Texas City Independent School District (TCISD) were
HUANG, AND WILSON
the study population, providing an initial sample of 870. Written subject consent was obtained from both children and parents.EthniccompositonofTCISD studentsin thesegrades included Anglo-American (62.3%), Mexican-American (20.9%),Black-American (14.8%),andAsian-Americanand American-Indian (2.0%). In 1980, Texas City had a population of 44,938 with a median family income of $23,774; oil refining and chemical manufacturing were the major industries. In these schools, a required 30 to 40 min physical education class was taught daily by specialists. Students also had a 10-minrecess daily.
Instrumentation and DataCollection A form for assessing children's self-reported frequency of total daily MVPA was constructed based on the work of Baranowskiet al. (1984) and was modified and pretested for classroom administration.The form consisted of ten activity category choices, reflecting the most popular potentially aerobic activities among this age group, as well as an "other" space,' These activity categories were based on observation and physicalactivityrecordspreviouslycollectedon a similar population of children (Baranowski et al., 1984). Some categoriescontained multipleactivities(e.g., warm-upexercises and games and sports). Artwork depicting the activities was providedforconvenientreferenceandfor maintainingstudent attention to the task. Three response categories (none, less than 10 min, more than 10 min) were available for two time periods(duringschooland beforeorafterschool).Weselected 10 min, the usual length of recess, to distinguish activitiesof longer duration. In a previous investigation,using a versionof thisinstrument, the percent agreement between children's reported physicalactivitycomparedwithobservationfor theentireday was 76% (Baranowski et al., 1984). In the present study a sampleof thirdgradechildren (n =44)was selectedrandomly, and subjectswereobservedduring physicaleducationclasses by trained observers using a standard observation form. The physicalactivitiesreportedin the "during school"columnsby each child were compared with the physical activities each child was observed to engage in during physical education class the previousday, the day correspondingto the periodof the self-report. The percent agreement between the reported and the observed number ofMVPAs of:2:10 min (LMVPAs) was 86.3%, with a greater number of activities reported than observed. As the self-report also might contain activities engaged in during recess, perfect correspondence was not expected. Forms were administered to the same students over five consecutive weekdays during the same 35-min class period each morning. The first day was for practice, and those data were discarded.During each class administration,one or two trained staff facilitated student responses by verbally directing the students first to recess and physical education the previousday and then to before school that morningand after school the day before. For each segment of the day, staff
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Results
instructedthe students to remember the context,with whom they played, and the types of activities in which they had engaged.Thenthestudentsweredirectedtogodowntheform and for each activity check "no," "less than 10 minutes,"or "more than 10 minutes."Studentswere instructedto write in any activitiesnot listed in which they engaged. Duringform completion, staff circulated around the room answering the children's questions.
Thereportedparticipation inMVPAs overthreedayswas calculated separately for boys and girls and for MVPAs of longerand shorterdurationduringschoolandbeforeandafter school. Findings are organized according to the following threetopics: participation by type and location,averagedaily number,and the frequency of participation in MVPAs.
Data Processing
Participation 1Jy Type andLocation ofActivity
Codersidentifiedwrite-inresponses, and thestafffitness specialistcategorized as MVPA vigorousgames such as tag andsportssuchasskateboarding. Students completingat least threedaysof reports,Tuesdayto Friday,wereincludedin the analysis; the first threedays completedby each studentwere includedin the calculations. Of the original841 students, 29 failed to completedue to absence a minimum of three days, reducing the final sample to 812.
Shownin Table 1 is the reportedparticipation in eleven categories of MVPAs as a percent of Total MVPAs for boys andgirls,separately. Percentwascalculatedby tabulating the frequency eachactivitywasreportedanddividingthe sumby thetotalnumberofactivitiesreported.TotalMVPAsincluded MVPAsgreaterthan 10min(LMVPAs)andless than10min. The proportion of LMVPAs to Total MVPAs was 47.0% for boys and 44.6% for girls. Running was the most frequently engagedinTotalMVPA andLMVPA forbothboysandgirls. Four activity categories-running, walking fast, sports and games, and bicycling-accounted for over 70% of Total MVPAs for both boys and girls. Shown in Table 2 is the percentageof each category of LMVPAreportedforbeforeorafterschoolandduringschool. Boysreported 1.6 and girls 1.4 times moreLMVPAs before andafterschoolthanduringschool.Childrenweremorelikely to engagein certainactivities(e.g., dancing,bicycling, skating, and rope jumping) before and after school and other activities (e.g., exercise stations, games and sports) during
Analysis Differences in reported Total MVPAs and LMVPAs were analyzedby General Linear Modelsprocedures (SAS, PC Version6.03, 1988)for repeatedmeasuresANOVA. We tested the between-subjects effects of grade and gender, within-subjects effectsof twotimeperiods(duringschooland before and after school),and interactioneffects.The sample distribution of reportedfrequency of participation in MVPAs was calculatedand graphed.
Table 1 Type of Total MVPAs and LMVPAs (10 min or longer) Reported by Boys and Girls In Third and Fourth Grades Over a Three Day Period, as a Percent of the Number of Activities Reported (Texas City, TX, 1985) Boys (n = 422)
Girls (n
= 390)
% Total MVPAs
% Longer MVPAs
% Total MVPAs
% Longer MVPAs
39.6 12.2 10.9 10.5 8.3 5.4 4.9 3.1 1.9 1.9 1.4
34.8 7.1 17.7 14.0 5.7 6.2 5.5 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.0
40.2 13.9 8.8 7.7 8.6 6.4 4.1 4.1 2.4 2.1 1.8
35.3 8.5 15.5 9.4 5.5 7.9 4.8 3.3 3.8 3.3 2.8
Percent
100.1
100.1
100.1
100.1
Number of activities reported
6,220
2,924
6,062
2,703
Running Walking fast Games and sports Bicycling Warm-up exercises Dancing Exercise stations Rope jumping Skating Swimming laps Other
Note. The percents may not equal 100 due to rounding.
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AverageDaily TotalMVPAs. Multivariate analysis indicated that students reported significantly more Total MVPAs for before and after school (2.3) than during school (1.6) (F[I,808] = 233.73 p = .001); the interaction was not significant. For the total day, however, there were significant between-subject effects for grade (F[I,808] =7.64,p < .006) and interaction ofgrade by gender (F[1 ,808] =10.57,p< .001). That is, as shown in Table 3, third grade boys and girls reported significantly more total day Total MVPAs (4.2) than fourth grade boys and girls (3.7). Interaction between grade and gender, as shown in bottom frame (B) of Figure I, indicates that third grade boys reported more total day Total MVPAs (4.3) than third grade girls (4.0), while fourth grade boys reported fewer than fourth grade girls (4.1).
school. The schools did not have swimming pools on the premises and did not include swimming as a physical education or recreation activity, and roller skating was not allowed at school. Hence, these reports, which accounted for 1.8% of all the activities reported by both boys and girls during school, appear to be reporting errors.
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AverageDaily Number ofPhysicalActivities For total day LMVPAs, the mean for boys and girls combined was 1.7, and the median was 1.0 for fourth grade boys and girls and 1.3 for third grade boys and girls. The average number of daily LMVPAs and Total MVPAs is shown in Table 3 for boys and girls by grade and time period. Average Daily LMVPAs. Multivariate analysis, testing for the effect of time (location) as a repeated measure, indicated that students reported significantly more LMVPAs for before and after school (1.1) than during school (0.6); the interaction was not significant. For the total day, however, there were significant between-subject effects for grades (F[I,808] =7.98, P < .005) and interaction of grade by gender (F[I,808] =3.83, p < .05). The main effect for grade means that third grade boys and girls reported significantly more total dayLMVPAs (1.9) than fourth grade boys and girls (1.5), as shown in Table 3. The significantinteraction between grade and gender indicates that third grade boys reported more total day LMVP As (2.0) than girls (1.8), while fourth grade boys reported fewer (1.4) than girls (1.7), shown in the top frame (A) of Figure 1.
Frequency ofParticipation in PhysicalActivities Among boys; 12.3%,and among girls, 13.3% reported no LMVPAs during the three-day reporting period. Shown in Figure 2,35.6% of boys reported fewer than one LMVPA per day and 66.9% reported fewer than two. Shown in Figure 3, 35.6% of girls reported fewer than one, and 64.8% reported fewer than two LMVPAs per day.
Discussion In this study we assessed the type, location, average number, and frequency of children's participation in MVPAs.
Table 2 Location of Children's Participation In LMVPAs (10 min or longer) Before and After School and During SChool for Boys and Girls In Third and Fourth Grades Over a Three Day Period (Texas City, TX, 1985) Total LMVPAs Boys (n = 422)
Girls (n = 390)
Before/ After School
During School
Before/ After School
Running Bicycling Games and sports Dancing Walking fast Warm-up exercises Exercise stations Swimming laps Skating Rope jumping Other
30.8 20.6 14.2 7.3 6.6 5.2 3.7 3.6 3.4 2.9 1.8
40.0 3.1 25.6 4.3 7.5 6.4 8.3 0.7 1.1 1.1 2.3
29.6 15.1 10.7 10.2 8.6 5.6 3.3 5.0 5.6 4.5 1.9
1.5 22.1 4.7 8.3 5.3 6.9 1.0 1.3 1.7 4.1
Percent Number of LMVPAs reported
100.1
99.9
100.1
100.0
1,797
1,127
1,564
1,139
Activities
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43.1
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FrequencyofParticipation in MVPA
adequatenumberofLMVPAs.Theapparently lowfrequency of participation in LMVPAs onweekdays iscauseforconcern that manychildren,at leastin thissample,are notdeveloping duringchildhooddesirablepatternsofparticipation invigorous physicalactivity that might carry over into adulthood.
Our fmdings show that mostchildrenreportedengaging in at least some MVPAs during the three-day period. The
minimum andoptimumamountsof physicalactivitychildren should have for health and fitness are not known (SimonsMortonet al., 1988),but Haskellet al. (1985)recommended thatchildrenengagein a minimum of30 minofMVPA inone or more sessionsdaily. Accordingly, a reasonable minimum goal for childrenis one or moreLMVPAs daily,and an ideal goal is for children to have two or more LMVPAs daily. In our study the 12.3%of boys and 13.3%of girls who reported no LMVPAs can be considered sedentary, and the 35.6% of both boys and girls who reported fewer than one LMVPA daily obtained less activity than recommended. While64.4%ofboysandgirlsengagedinatleastoneLMVPA daily, only 33.1% of boys and 35.2% of girls obtained an
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AverageDaily Number and LocationofMVPAs Children reported significantly more LMVPAs before andafterschoolthanduringschool,despitedailyparticipation in a 35-minphysical educationclass and a 10-20min daily recess. This finding is consistent with other evidence that physicaleducation is providinginadequate MVPAfor many children and that family and community environments are important determinants of participation (Ross & Pate, 1987). Neitherthe duringschoolnor thebeforeandafterschool period alone provided for adequate MVPA for many of the
Table 3 Average per Day Number of LMVPAs (10 min or longer) and Total MVPAs by Gender and Grade (Texas City, TX, 1985) Boys Period
Girls
Total (Boys & Girls)
Third (n = 212)
Fourth (n = 210)
Total (n = 422)
Third (n = 187)
Fourth (n = 203)
Total (n = 390)
Third (n", 399)
Fourth (n = 413)
0.7 0.9
0.4 0.6
0.6 0.8
0.7 0.8
0.6 0.7
0.6 0.8
0.7 0.8
0.5 0.7
1.7 1.1
1.3 1.0
1.5 1.1
1.7 1.1
1.7 1.1
1.7 1.1
1.7 1.1
1.5 1.1
1.3 1.4
0.9 1.1
1.1 1.2
1.0 1.1
1.1 1.3
1.1 1.2
1.2 1.2
1.0 1.2
2.6 1.7
2.0 1.5
2.3 1.6
2.4 1.4
2.4 1.7
2.4 1.5
2.5 1.6
2.2 1.6
2.0 1.9
1.4 1.4
1.7 1.7
1.8 1.7
1.7 1.8
1.7 1.7
1.9 1.8
1.5 1.6
4.3 2.5
3.3 2.2
3.8 2.4
4.0 2.2
4.1 2.5
4.0 2.3
4.2 2.4
3.7 2.4
During SChool LMVPAs
M
SO Total MVPAs
M
SO Before and After SChool LMVPAs
M8
SO Total MVPAs Mb
SO Total Day LMVPAs Mc,d
SO Total MVPAs Me,'
SO
Note.The sum of during school and before and after school may not equal total day due to rounding. 8Main effect of time (p < .0001 ). bMain effect of time (p < .0001). cMain effect of grade (p < .005). dlnteraction of grade by gender (p < .05). aMain effect of grade (p < .006). 'Interaction of grade by gender (p < .001).
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A 2.5
AVERAGE NUMBER LMVPA.fDAY
r:=J
100
Average number of total day LMVPAs
0.0 . d .s
k·:·:-:·:·I,.0. "
90
_2.0+ 80
77.5
70
~ 60
.
2.0
0
~ 50
18
;l'.
17
40 30
1.5
1.4 20 10
I -e- Boys -+- Girls I 1.0 - ' - - - - - - - - - , - - - - - - - - - - - . - - - - 3rd 4th
Grade Figure 2. Frequency of participation over a three-day period In MVPAs of ~10 min (LMVPAs) during school, before and after school, and total; boys In third and fourth grade (n = 422).
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B
Average number of total day MVPAs 4.5 4.3
AVERAGE NUMBER
LMVPAI/DAY
41 90 '00
4.0
c:::=J 00 . d .s
1
80
1:-:·:-:-:·:1,0·,. _2.0+ 75,1
10 60
~
3.5
50
0 ;l'.
40
au,
.3
I -e- Boys
II:
-+- Girls I
54.1
35.6 30
3.0..l..-------,-----------.----3rd
20
4th 10
Grade Figure 1. Interaction between grade and gender, average number of total day LMVPAs (A), and Total MVPAs (B).
children. Only47.6%ofchildrenreportedoneormoreLMVPA per day beforeand after school,andonly 22.5%reportedone or more LMVPA per day during school. However, 65.4% reportedoneor moreLMVPAsperdayforthetotalday.There appearsto be a need to facilitateincreasesin the frequency of participation duringboth schooland nonschool periods,particularly among less active children. Because nearly all the childrenin schoolattendphysicaleducation, and presumably only those children more inclinedengage in organizedcommunity physical activities, the school is a major focus for publichealthhopesfor increasesin theproportion of children who obtain LMVPA daily. On average, boys and girls engaged in about the same numberof daily Total MVPAsand LMVPAs,and therewere onlyminorvariations in the typeof MVPAsselectedby boys andgirls.Justfouractivitycategoriesaccountedfor over70% of activities reportedby both boys and girls. The significant interaction effect of grade by gender, where third grade boys engaged in more total day LMVPAs
AVERAGE NUMBER LMVPAs PER DAY
GIRLS
Figure 3. Frequency of participation over a three-day period In MVPAs of ~10 min (LMVPAs) during school, before and after school, and total; girls In third and fourth grade (n = 390).
andTotalMVPAsthangirlsandfourthgradeboysengagedin fewer than LMVPAs and Total MVPAs than girls, could indicatethattheolderboysactuallyengagedinfeweractivities of longerduration.
Limitations Several limitations of the study caution against broad generalization of the fmdings. The sample was drawn from foursoutheastTexasschoolsonly.Physicalactivityis known tovarybyseason,andwesampledonlythreespringweekdays per subject. It may be that children obtain more activity on weekends when,presumably, theyhavesubstantial free time, as well as time for structured sports and other vigorous recreation. Weassessedonlytherelativeduration (lessthanor
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Blair, S. N., Clark, D. G., Cureton, K. 1., & Powell, K. E. (1989) Exercise and fitness in childhood: Implications for a lifetime of health. In C. V. Gisolfi & D. R. Lamb (Eds.), Perspectives in
greaterthan 10min)of participation in the MVPAs reported, and total minutesof MVPA couldnot be calculated. Finally, the data reliedcompletelyon children's self-report, a method with knownreliabilityand validitylimitations.
exercisescienceand sportsmedicine. Vol. 2: Youth, exercise, and sport (pp. 401-430). Indianapolis, IN: Benchmark Press.
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Summary and Conclusion Major findings of the study include the following: 1. Boys reported 1.6 times and girls reported 1.4 times more LMVPAs beforeand after schoolthan during school. 2.Overthethree-day period,12.3% ofboysand 13.3% of girls reported no LMVPAs. 3. Over the three-day period, 35.6% of boys and girls reportedfewer than one LMVPA daily. 4. Students reported a significantly greater number of MVPAs and LMVPAs before and after school than during school. 5. Differences inparticipation inLMVPAsbetweenboys and girls were not significant. However, third grade boys engagedin significantly more MVPA, and fourthgradeboys engagedinsignificantly fewerMVPAsthansame-grade girls. These fmdings supportthe conclusion that a substantial proportion of children in the study population obtained inadequateamountsofactivitiesduringthestudyperiodofthree days.Despiteenrollmentin a daily35-minphysicaleducation programand lO-min recess,theschoolprovidedsignificantly fewer LMVPAs than the out-of-school time period. Hence, national goals should call for daily physical education that providesLMVPAfor each child. Research is neededto determinetheextentto whichthese patterns of participation in physical activity are widespread among children, the duration in minutes of participation in MVPA,and how the frequency and amountof activityvaries aschildrenage.Tobetterchronicletheextentanddistribution ofchildren'sphysical activity, moreprecisemeansofassessing children's physicalactivitymustbe developedandemployed in prospective studies.
References American College of Sports Medicine (1980). Guidelinesfor graded exercise testing and exerciseprescription (2nd ed.) Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger. Baranowski, T., Dworkin, R. J., Cieslik, C. J., Hooks, P., Clearman, D. R., Ray, L., Dunn, J. K., & Nader, P. R. (1984). Reliability and validity of self report of aerobic activity: Family health project. ResearchQuarterlyfor ExerciseandSport,55,309-317. Baranowski, T., Tsong, Y., Hooks, P., Cieslik, C., & Nader, P. R. (1987). Aerobic physical activity among third to sixth grade children. JournalofDevelopmental andBehavioralPediatrics, 8,203-206.
Blair, S. N., Kohl ill, H. W., Paffenbarger, R. S., Jr., Clark, D. G., Cooper, K. H., & Gibbons, L. W. (1989). Physical fitness and all-cause mortality. Journal of the American Medical Association, 262, 2395-2401. Caspersen, C. J., Christenson, G. M., & Pollard, R. A. (1986). Status of the 1990 physical fitness and exercise objectives: Evidence from NHIS1985. PublicHealth Reports,101, 587- 592. Clark, D. G., & Blair, S. N. (1988). Physical activity and prevention ofobesity in childhoood. InN. A. Krasneger, G.D. Grave, &N. Kretchmer (Eds.), Childhood obesity: A biobehavioral perspective (pp. 121-142). Caldwell, N.J.: Telford Press. Durant, R. H., Linder, C. W., & Mahoney, O. M. (1983). The relationship between habitual physical activity and serum lipoproteins in white male adolescents. Journal of Adolescent HealthCare, 4, 235-239. Freedman, D. S., Shear, C. L., Shrinivasan, S. R., Webber, L. S., & Berenson, G. S. (1985). Tracking of serum lipids and lipoproteins in children over an 8-year period: The Bogalusa Heart Study. PreventiveMedicine, 14, 203-216. Gilliam, T. B., Freedson, P. S., Geenen, D. L., & Shahraray, B. (1981). Physical activity patterns determined by heart rate monitoring in 6-7 year-old children. Medicineand Sciencein Sports and Exercise, 13, 65-67. Haskell, W. L., Montoye, H. J., & Orenstein, D. (1985). Physical activity and exercise to achieve health-related physical fitness components. PublicHealthReports,100, 202-212. Krahenbuhl, G. S., Skinner, J. S., & Kohrt, W. M. (1985). Developmental aspects of maximal aerobic power in children. In R. L. Terjung (Ed.), Exercisescienceandsportsresearch (pp. 503538). New York: Macmillan. Lauer, R. M., Lee J., & Clarke, W. R. (1989). Factors affecting the relationship betweeen childhood and adult cholesterol levels: The Muscatine Study. Pediatrics, 82, 309-318. MacConnie, S. E., Gilliam, T. B., Geenen, D. L., & Pels ill, A. E. (1982). Daily physical activity patterns of prepubertal children involved in a vigorous exercise program. International Journal ofSportsMedicine, 3, 202-207. Paffenbarger, R. S., & Hyde, R. T. (1984). Exercise in the prevention of coronary heart disease. PreventiveMedicine, 13,3-22. Paffenbarger, R. S., Hyde, R. T., Wing, A. L., & Hsieh, C. (1986). Physical activity, all-cause mortality, and longevity of college alumni. New EnglandJournal ofMedicine, 314, 605- 613. Parcel,G. S., Simons-Morton.B, G.,O'Hara,N.M., Baranowski,T., Kolbe, L. J., & Bee D. E. (1987). School promotion of healthful diet and exercise behavior: An integration of organizational change and social learning theory interventions. Journal of SchoolHealth, 57, 150-156. Pate, R. R., & Blair, S. N. (1978). Exercise and the prevention of atherosclerosis: Pediatric implications. In W. Strong (Ed.), Pediatricaspectsofatherosclerosis (pp 251-286). New York: Grune & Stratton. Powell, K. E., Thompson, P. D., Caspersen, C. J., & Kendrick, J. S. (1987). Physical activity and the incidence of coronary heart disease. Annual ReviewsofPublicHealth, 8, 253-287. Ross, J. G., & Gilbert, G. G. (1985). The National Children and Youth Fitness Study: A summary of fmdings. JournalofPhysical Education, Recreation, & Dance,56(1), 45-50.
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Footnote
Ross, J. G., & Pate R. R. (1987). The National Children and Youth Fitness Study n. A summary of fmdings. Journal ofPhysical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 58(9),51-56. SASISTAT User's Guide. Version 6.03 ed. (1988). Cary, NC: SAS Institute. Simons-Morton, B. G., O'Hara, N. M., Simons-Morton, D. G., & Parcel, G. S. (1987). Children and fitness: A public health perspective. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 58, 295-303. Simons-Morton, B. G., Parcel, G. S., O'Hara, N. M., Blair, S. N., & Pate, R. R. (1988). Health related physical fitness in childhood: Status and recommendations. Annual Review Public Health, 9, 403-425. Stephens, T.,Jacobs, D. R., Jr., & White,C. C. (1985). A descriptive epidemiology of leisure time physical activity. Public Health Reports, 100, 147-158. Strazzullo, P., Cappuccio, F. P., Trevisan, M., de Leo, A., Krogh, V., Giorgione, N., & Mancini, M. (1988). Leisure time physical activity and blood pressure in schoolchildren. American Journal of Epidemiology, 127, 726-733. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1986). The 1990 Health Objectives for the Nation: A midcourse review. Washington, DC: Public Health Service. Walberg, 1., & Ward, D. (1985). Role of physical activity in the etiology and treatment of childhood obesity. Pediatrician, 2, 82-88.
1. Form available from first author on request.
Authors' Note This project was supported in part by Nlll..BI, NIH grant
#33376.
Submitted: August 15,1989 Revision accepted: February 12,1990 Bruce G. Simons-Morton is an associate professor, NancyM. 0' Hara is a research assistant professor, Guy S. Parcelis director and professor, and Iris Wei Huang is senior data analyst at the Center for Health Promotion Research and Development, School of Public Health, The University of TexasHealth ScienceCenter, Houston, Texas. TomBaranowski is Professor of Pediatrics, Georgia Prevention Institute. Medical College of Georgia, Augusta. Brad Wilson is a statistical data analyst in Biostatistics, Washington University,St.Louis,Missouri. Addresscorrespondence toBruceG. Simons-Morton, EdD, MPH, Center for Health Promotion Research andDevelopment, W-920 RAS Building, P.O.Box 20186, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77225.
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Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/urqe20
Children's Frequency of Participation in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activities a
a
a
a
Bruce G. Simons-Morton , Nancy M. O'hara , Guy S. Parcel , Iris Wei Huang , Tom b
Baranowski & Brad Wilson
c
a
Center for Health Promotion Research and Development , School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center , Houston , Texas , USA b
Georgia Prevention Institute, Medical College of Georgia Augusta , USA
c
Biostatistics , Washington University , St. Louis , Missouri , USA Published online: 08 Feb 2013.
To cite this article: Bruce G. Simons-Morton , Nancy M. O'hara , Guy S. Parcel , Iris Wei Huang , Tom Baranowski & Brad Wilson (1990) Children's Frequency of Participation in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activities, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 61:4, 307-314, DOI: 10.1080/02701367.1990.10607492 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02701367.1990.10607492
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Children's Frequency of Participation in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activities BRUCE G. SIMONS-MORTON, NANCY M. O'HARA, GUY S. PARCEL, AND IRIS WEI HUANG University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston TOM BARANOWSKI Medical College of Georgia
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BRAD WILSON Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Third andfourth grade boys (n = 422) and girls (n = 390) in four Texas elementary schools reported their participation in moderate to vigorous physical activities (MVPAs) over a 3 -day period. Students were surveyed during class on successive days. On a subsample (n = 44), the agreement between reported and observed physical activities during physical education or recess was 86.3%. Running, walking fast, games and sports, and bicycling accounted for 70% ofTotal MVPAs. OfTotal MVPAs reported, 47.0% for boys and 44.6% for girls were 10 min or longer in duration (LMVPA). The average number ofLMVPAs per day was 1.7 for both boys and girls. Students reported significantly more occurrences ofLMVPAs out ofschool than during school. Significan: interaction between grade and gender indicated that third grade boys reported more Total MVPAs and LMVPAs than third grade girls, but fourth grade boys reported fewer Total MVPAs and LMVPAs than fourth grade girls. During the 3 -day reporting period, 12.3% ofboys and 13.3% ofgirls reported no LMVPAs, and 35.6% ofboys and girls reported fewer than one LMVPAs per day. While the majority ofchildren reported obtaining at least some activity daily, a substantial proportion ofchildren in this sample reported fewer than one LMVPA daily, indicating that many children may not be obtaining adequate amounts ofphysical activity.
Key words: children, physical activity, physical education
An increase in children's participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is a recognized public health goal (USDHHS, 1986). Surprisingly little is known, however, about children's physical activity patterns. The purposeof this study, conductedas the baselinesurveyfor an interventionstudy (parcel et al., 1987),was to assess the type and frequency of participation in MVPA of third and fourth gradechildrenin fourTexas City, Texas, elementaryschools. Regular participation in work-time and leisure-time physicalactivitybyadultsisassociated withincreasedlongevity (Blairet al., 1989;Paffenbarger,Hyde,Wing, & Hsieh, 1986)
and decreased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) (paffenbarger & Hyde, 1984;Powell,Thompson,Caspersen, & Kendrick, 1987). While 50% to 60% of North American adults report obtaining some physical activity, only 21% are activeregularly;30%or morearesedentary(Stephens.Jacobs, & White, 1985).Caspersen,Christenson,and Pollard (1986) reportedthat7% ofU'S. adultsengageinphysicalactivitythat meets the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for adults (ACSM, 1980), which call for the maintenance of 60% or more of maximum heart rate reserve in rhythmic activity for 20-30 min, three to four times a week. Physicalactivityby children is inverselyassociatedwith blood pressure (Strazzullo et al., 1988), serum lipoproteins (except HDL, with which physical activity is positively associated) (Durant, Linder, & Mahoney, 1983), and obesity (Clark & Blair, 1988; Walberg & Ward, 1985).These associations are particularly important because these CHD risk factors trackovertime(Freedman, Shear,Shrinivasan,Webber, & Berenson, 1985; Lauer, Lee, & Clarke, 1989). Physical activity during childhood, however, is of interest to public health not only because of its concurrent relationships with riskfactors,butalsobecauseof itspossibleinfluenceonfuture adult participation in physical activity. Presumably, active children will develop skills, enjoyment, and habits that will increasethe likelihoodthat they willbe activeas adults(Blair, Clark, Cureton, & Powell, 1989; Ross & Gilbert, 1985; Simons-Morton, O'Hara, Simons-Morton, & Parcel, 1987; Simons-Morton, Parcel, O'Hara, Blair, & Pate, 1988). Relative to adults, preadolescentchildren are known to have high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness as measuredby VOzmax (Krahenbuhl,Skinner, & Kohrt, 1985;Pate & Blair, 1978).Children's high levels of fitness may be naturalor the result of high levels of physical activity. Preadolescentchildrenare thought to be quiteactive,but data are not available to support the contention that children
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are sufficientlyactive toaccount for theirgenerallyhighlevels of cardiorespiratory fitness. The primary importance of programs to encourage increases in MVPA by preadolescent children, however, is based on the rationale that lifetime habits of participation in regular physical activity should begin early in life and be carried over into adulthood. The optimal amount of vigorous physical activity for children is unknown,but experts recommend at least some MVPA daily (Haskell,Montoye, & Orenstein, 1985;Simons-Mortonetal., 1988). The few published studies of the extent and nature of children's physical activity are difficult to interpret due to differences in subjects, methods, analyses, and defmitions of MVPAMacConnie,Gilliam,Geenen,andPels(1982)reported that a sample of7-year-old children had a one-day average of 49 minutes :2:140 b-mirr'. In a study of daily heart rates of 67 year-oldchildren,Gilliam,Freedson,Geenen,andShahraray (1981) reported that out of 720 min, boys raised their heart rates to :2:140 b-mirr' a total of 56.2 min, and girls raised their heart rate to :2:140 b-mhr' a total of 29.6 min. Baranowski, Tsong,Hooks.Cieslik.and Nader(1987)observedthephysical activityof third to fifth grade children (N = 24) and foundthat 10.4% of children engaged in at least one MVPA daily accordingto a strict definitionof aerobic (20continuousmin), and 47.9% engaged in at least one MVPA less strictly defined (continuousbut with occasional breaks in intensityduring 14min periods). The duration of the average bout of physical activity less strictly defmed was 61 to 71 min. In the National Children and Youth Fitness Study (NCYFS) (Ross & Gilbert, 1985), a national survey that assessed children's self-reported physical activity, 56.1% of fifthand sixthgradeboysand49.1%of girlsreportedengaging in potentially aerobic physical activities for at least 20 min three times or more per week, year round. The NCYFS provides the only national survey data available on physical activity patterns of children. Major findings of the NCYFS were that the average child obtained more physical activity away from school than at school, older children reported fewer activities than younger children, and the percent of children receiving physical education and the amount of physical education they received was greater in elementary than secondaryschool. Neither the NCYFS nor other studies, unfortunately, have reported the frequency of children's participation in vigorous physical activity. The presentresearchfocusedon thetype,location,average daily number, and frequency of participation in MVPA by preadolescent children.
Method Sample Thirdandfourthgradestudentsinfourelementaryschools in the Texas City Independent School District (TCISD) were
HUANG, AND WILSON
the study population, providing an initial sample of 870. Written subject consent was obtained from both children and parents.EthniccompositonofTCISD studentsin thesegrades included Anglo-American (62.3%), Mexican-American (20.9%),Black-American (14.8%),andAsian-Americanand American-Indian (2.0%). In 1980, Texas City had a population of 44,938 with a median family income of $23,774; oil refining and chemical manufacturing were the major industries. In these schools, a required 30 to 40 min physical education class was taught daily by specialists. Students also had a 10-minrecess daily.
Instrumentation and DataCollection A form for assessing children's self-reported frequency of total daily MVPA was constructed based on the work of Baranowskiet al. (1984) and was modified and pretested for classroom administration.The form consisted of ten activity category choices, reflecting the most popular potentially aerobic activities among this age group, as well as an "other" space,' These activity categories were based on observation and physicalactivityrecordspreviouslycollectedon a similar population of children (Baranowski et al., 1984). Some categoriescontained multipleactivities(e.g., warm-upexercises and games and sports). Artwork depicting the activities was providedforconvenientreferenceandfor maintainingstudent attention to the task. Three response categories (none, less than 10 min, more than 10 min) were available for two time periods(duringschooland beforeorafterschool).Weselected 10 min, the usual length of recess, to distinguish activitiesof longer duration. In a previous investigation,using a versionof thisinstrument, the percent agreement between children's reported physicalactivitycomparedwithobservationfor theentireday was 76% (Baranowski et al., 1984). In the present study a sampleof thirdgradechildren (n =44)was selectedrandomly, and subjectswereobservedduring physicaleducationclasses by trained observers using a standard observation form. The physicalactivitiesreportedin the "during school"columnsby each child were compared with the physical activities each child was observed to engage in during physical education class the previousday, the day correspondingto the periodof the self-report. The percent agreement between the reported and the observed number ofMVPAs of:2:10 min (LMVPAs) was 86.3%, with a greater number of activities reported than observed. As the self-report also might contain activities engaged in during recess, perfect correspondence was not expected. Forms were administered to the same students over five consecutive weekdays during the same 35-min class period each morning. The first day was for practice, and those data were discarded.During each class administration,one or two trained staff facilitated student responses by verbally directing the students first to recess and physical education the previousday and then to before school that morningand after school the day before. For each segment of the day, staff
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instructedthe students to remember the context,with whom they played, and the types of activities in which they had engaged.Thenthestudentsweredirectedtogodowntheform and for each activity check "no," "less than 10 minutes,"or "more than 10 minutes."Studentswere instructedto write in any activitiesnot listed in which they engaged. Duringform completion, staff circulated around the room answering the children's questions.
Thereportedparticipation inMVPAs overthreedayswas calculated separately for boys and girls and for MVPAs of longerand shorterdurationduringschoolandbeforeandafter school. Findings are organized according to the following threetopics: participation by type and location,averagedaily number,and the frequency of participation in MVPAs.
Data Processing
Participation 1Jy Type andLocation ofActivity
Codersidentifiedwrite-inresponses, and thestafffitness specialistcategorized as MVPA vigorousgames such as tag andsportssuchasskateboarding. Students completingat least threedaysof reports,Tuesdayto Friday,wereincludedin the analysis; the first threedays completedby each studentwere includedin the calculations. Of the original841 students, 29 failed to completedue to absence a minimum of three days, reducing the final sample to 812.
Shownin Table 1 is the reportedparticipation in eleven categories of MVPAs as a percent of Total MVPAs for boys andgirls,separately. Percentwascalculatedby tabulating the frequency eachactivitywasreportedanddividingthe sumby thetotalnumberofactivitiesreported.TotalMVPAsincluded MVPAsgreaterthan 10min(LMVPAs)andless than10min. The proportion of LMVPAs to Total MVPAs was 47.0% for boys and 44.6% for girls. Running was the most frequently engagedinTotalMVPA andLMVPA forbothboysandgirls. Four activity categories-running, walking fast, sports and games, and bicycling-accounted for over 70% of Total MVPAs for both boys and girls. Shown in Table 2 is the percentageof each category of LMVPAreportedforbeforeorafterschoolandduringschool. Boysreported 1.6 and girls 1.4 times moreLMVPAs before andafterschoolthanduringschool.Childrenweremorelikely to engagein certainactivities(e.g., dancing,bicycling, skating, and rope jumping) before and after school and other activities (e.g., exercise stations, games and sports) during
Analysis Differences in reported Total MVPAs and LMVPAs were analyzedby General Linear Modelsprocedures (SAS, PC Version6.03, 1988)for repeatedmeasuresANOVA. We tested the between-subjects effects of grade and gender, within-subjects effectsof twotimeperiods(duringschooland before and after school),and interactioneffects.The sample distribution of reportedfrequency of participation in MVPAs was calculatedand graphed.
Table 1 Type of Total MVPAs and LMVPAs (10 min or longer) Reported by Boys and Girls In Third and Fourth Grades Over a Three Day Period, as a Percent of the Number of Activities Reported (Texas City, TX, 1985) Boys (n = 422)
Girls (n
= 390)
% Total MVPAs
% Longer MVPAs
% Total MVPAs
% Longer MVPAs
39.6 12.2 10.9 10.5 8.3 5.4 4.9 3.1 1.9 1.9 1.4
34.8 7.1 17.7 14.0 5.7 6.2 5.5 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.0
40.2 13.9 8.8 7.7 8.6 6.4 4.1 4.1 2.4 2.1 1.8
35.3 8.5 15.5 9.4 5.5 7.9 4.8 3.3 3.8 3.3 2.8
Percent
100.1
100.1
100.1
100.1
Number of activities reported
6,220
2,924
6,062
2,703
Running Walking fast Games and sports Bicycling Warm-up exercises Dancing Exercise stations Rope jumping Skating Swimming laps Other
Note. The percents may not equal 100 due to rounding.
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AverageDaily TotalMVPAs. Multivariate analysis indicated that students reported significantly more Total MVPAs for before and after school (2.3) than during school (1.6) (F[I,808] = 233.73 p = .001); the interaction was not significant. For the total day, however, there were significant between-subject effects for grade (F[I,808] =7.64,p < .006) and interaction ofgrade by gender (F[1 ,808] =10.57,p< .001). That is, as shown in Table 3, third grade boys and girls reported significantly more total day Total MVPAs (4.2) than fourth grade boys and girls (3.7). Interaction between grade and gender, as shown in bottom frame (B) of Figure I, indicates that third grade boys reported more total day Total MVPAs (4.3) than third grade girls (4.0), while fourth grade boys reported fewer than fourth grade girls (4.1).
school. The schools did not have swimming pools on the premises and did not include swimming as a physical education or recreation activity, and roller skating was not allowed at school. Hence, these reports, which accounted for 1.8% of all the activities reported by both boys and girls during school, appear to be reporting errors.
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AverageDaily Number ofPhysicalActivities For total day LMVPAs, the mean for boys and girls combined was 1.7, and the median was 1.0 for fourth grade boys and girls and 1.3 for third grade boys and girls. The average number of daily LMVPAs and Total MVPAs is shown in Table 3 for boys and girls by grade and time period. Average Daily LMVPAs. Multivariate analysis, testing for the effect of time (location) as a repeated measure, indicated that students reported significantly more LMVPAs for before and after school (1.1) than during school (0.6); the interaction was not significant. For the total day, however, there were significant between-subject effects for grades (F[I,808] =7.98, P < .005) and interaction of grade by gender (F[I,808] =3.83, p < .05). The main effect for grade means that third grade boys and girls reported significantly more total dayLMVPAs (1.9) than fourth grade boys and girls (1.5), as shown in Table 3. The significantinteraction between grade and gender indicates that third grade boys reported more total day LMVP As (2.0) than girls (1.8), while fourth grade boys reported fewer (1.4) than girls (1.7), shown in the top frame (A) of Figure 1.
Frequency ofParticipation in PhysicalActivities Among boys; 12.3%,and among girls, 13.3% reported no LMVPAs during the three-day reporting period. Shown in Figure 2,35.6% of boys reported fewer than one LMVPA per day and 66.9% reported fewer than two. Shown in Figure 3, 35.6% of girls reported fewer than one, and 64.8% reported fewer than two LMVPAs per day.
Discussion In this study we assessed the type, location, average number, and frequency of children's participation in MVPAs.
Table 2 Location of Children's Participation In LMVPAs (10 min or longer) Before and After School and During SChool for Boys and Girls In Third and Fourth Grades Over a Three Day Period (Texas City, TX, 1985) Total LMVPAs Boys (n = 422)
Girls (n = 390)
Before/ After School
During School
Before/ After School
Running Bicycling Games and sports Dancing Walking fast Warm-up exercises Exercise stations Swimming laps Skating Rope jumping Other
30.8 20.6 14.2 7.3 6.6 5.2 3.7 3.6 3.4 2.9 1.8
40.0 3.1 25.6 4.3 7.5 6.4 8.3 0.7 1.1 1.1 2.3
29.6 15.1 10.7 10.2 8.6 5.6 3.3 5.0 5.6 4.5 1.9
1.5 22.1 4.7 8.3 5.3 6.9 1.0 1.3 1.7 4.1
Percent Number of LMVPAs reported
100.1
99.9
100.1
100.0
1,797
1,127
1,564
1,139
Activities
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FrequencyofParticipation in MVPA
adequatenumberofLMVPAs.Theapparently lowfrequency of participation in LMVPAs onweekdays iscauseforconcern that manychildren,at leastin thissample,are notdeveloping duringchildhooddesirablepatternsofparticipation invigorous physicalactivity that might carry over into adulthood.
Our fmdings show that mostchildrenreportedengaging in at least some MVPAs during the three-day period. The
minimum andoptimumamountsof physicalactivitychildren should have for health and fitness are not known (SimonsMortonet al., 1988),but Haskellet al. (1985)recommended thatchildrenengagein a minimum of30 minofMVPA inone or more sessionsdaily. Accordingly, a reasonable minimum goal for childrenis one or moreLMVPAs daily,and an ideal goal is for children to have two or more LMVPAs daily. In our study the 12.3%of boys and 13.3%of girls who reported no LMVPAs can be considered sedentary, and the 35.6% of both boys and girls who reported fewer than one LMVPA daily obtained less activity than recommended. While64.4%ofboysandgirlsengagedinatleastoneLMVPA daily, only 33.1% of boys and 35.2% of girls obtained an
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AverageDaily Number and LocationofMVPAs Children reported significantly more LMVPAs before andafterschoolthanduringschool,despitedailyparticipation in a 35-minphysical educationclass and a 10-20min daily recess. This finding is consistent with other evidence that physicaleducation is providinginadequate MVPAfor many children and that family and community environments are important determinants of participation (Ross & Pate, 1987). Neitherthe duringschoolnor thebeforeandafterschool period alone provided for adequate MVPA for many of the
Table 3 Average per Day Number of LMVPAs (10 min or longer) and Total MVPAs by Gender and Grade (Texas City, TX, 1985) Boys Period
Girls
Total (Boys & Girls)
Third (n = 212)
Fourth (n = 210)
Total (n = 422)
Third (n = 187)
Fourth (n = 203)
Total (n = 390)
Third (n", 399)
Fourth (n = 413)
0.7 0.9
0.4 0.6
0.6 0.8
0.7 0.8
0.6 0.7
0.6 0.8
0.7 0.8
0.5 0.7
1.7 1.1
1.3 1.0
1.5 1.1
1.7 1.1
1.7 1.1
1.7 1.1
1.7 1.1
1.5 1.1
1.3 1.4
0.9 1.1
1.1 1.2
1.0 1.1
1.1 1.3
1.1 1.2
1.2 1.2
1.0 1.2
2.6 1.7
2.0 1.5
2.3 1.6
2.4 1.4
2.4 1.7
2.4 1.5
2.5 1.6
2.2 1.6
2.0 1.9
1.4 1.4
1.7 1.7
1.8 1.7
1.7 1.8
1.7 1.7
1.9 1.8
1.5 1.6
4.3 2.5
3.3 2.2
3.8 2.4
4.0 2.2
4.1 2.5
4.0 2.3
4.2 2.4
3.7 2.4
During SChool LMVPAs
M
SO Total MVPAs
M
SO Before and After SChool LMVPAs
M8
SO Total MVPAs Mb
SO Total Day LMVPAs Mc,d
SO Total MVPAs Me,'
SO
Note.The sum of during school and before and after school may not equal total day due to rounding. 8Main effect of time (p < .0001 ). bMain effect of time (p < .0001). cMain effect of grade (p < .005). dlnteraction of grade by gender (p < .05). aMain effect of grade (p < .006). 'Interaction of grade by gender (p < .001).
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A 2.5
AVERAGE NUMBER LMVPA.fDAY
r:=J
100
Average number of total day LMVPAs
0.0 . d .s
k·:·:-:·:·I,.0. "
90
_2.0+ 80
77.5
70
~ 60
.
2.0
0
~ 50
18
;l'.
17
40 30
1.5
1.4 20 10
I -e- Boys -+- Girls I 1.0 - ' - - - - - - - - - , - - - - - - - - - - - . - - - - 3rd 4th
Grade Figure 2. Frequency of participation over a three-day period In MVPAs of ~10 min (LMVPAs) during school, before and after school, and total; boys In third and fourth grade (n = 422).
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B
Average number of total day MVPAs 4.5 4.3
AVERAGE NUMBER
LMVPAI/DAY
41 90 '00
4.0
c:::=J 00 . d .s
1
80
1:-:·:-:-:·:1,0·,. _2.0+ 75,1
10 60
~
3.5
50
0 ;l'.
40
au,
.3
I -e- Boys
II:
-+- Girls I
54.1
35.6 30
3.0..l..-------,-----------.----3rd
20
4th 10
Grade Figure 1. Interaction between grade and gender, average number of total day LMVPAs (A), and Total MVPAs (B).
children. Only47.6%ofchildrenreportedoneormoreLMVPA per day beforeand after school,andonly 22.5%reportedone or more LMVPA per day during school. However, 65.4% reportedoneor moreLMVPAsperdayforthetotalday.There appearsto be a need to facilitateincreasesin the frequency of participation duringboth schooland nonschool periods,particularly among less active children. Because nearly all the childrenin schoolattendphysicaleducation, and presumably only those children more inclinedengage in organizedcommunity physical activities, the school is a major focus for publichealthhopesfor increasesin theproportion of children who obtain LMVPA daily. On average, boys and girls engaged in about the same numberof daily Total MVPAsand LMVPAs,and therewere onlyminorvariations in the typeof MVPAsselectedby boys andgirls.Justfouractivitycategoriesaccountedfor over70% of activities reportedby both boys and girls. The significant interaction effect of grade by gender, where third grade boys engaged in more total day LMVPAs
AVERAGE NUMBER LMVPAs PER DAY
GIRLS
Figure 3. Frequency of participation over a three-day period In MVPAs of ~10 min (LMVPAs) during school, before and after school, and total; girls In third and fourth grade (n = 390).
andTotalMVPAsthangirlsandfourthgradeboysengagedin fewer than LMVPAs and Total MVPAs than girls, could indicatethattheolderboysactuallyengagedinfeweractivities of longerduration.
Limitations Several limitations of the study caution against broad generalization of the fmdings. The sample was drawn from foursoutheastTexasschoolsonly.Physicalactivityis known tovarybyseason,andwesampledonlythreespringweekdays per subject. It may be that children obtain more activity on weekends when,presumably, theyhavesubstantial free time, as well as time for structured sports and other vigorous recreation. Weassessedonlytherelativeduration (lessthanor
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Blair, S. N., Clark, D. G., Cureton, K. 1., & Powell, K. E. (1989) Exercise and fitness in childhood: Implications for a lifetime of health. In C. V. Gisolfi & D. R. Lamb (Eds.), Perspectives in
greaterthan 10min)of participation in the MVPAs reported, and total minutesof MVPA couldnot be calculated. Finally, the data reliedcompletelyon children's self-report, a method with knownreliabilityand validitylimitations.
exercisescienceand sportsmedicine. Vol. 2: Youth, exercise, and sport (pp. 401-430). Indianapolis, IN: Benchmark Press.
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Summary and Conclusion Major findings of the study include the following: 1. Boys reported 1.6 times and girls reported 1.4 times more LMVPAs beforeand after schoolthan during school. 2.Overthethree-day period,12.3% ofboysand 13.3% of girls reported no LMVPAs. 3. Over the three-day period, 35.6% of boys and girls reportedfewer than one LMVPA daily. 4. Students reported a significantly greater number of MVPAs and LMVPAs before and after school than during school. 5. Differences inparticipation inLMVPAsbetweenboys and girls were not significant. However, third grade boys engagedin significantly more MVPA, and fourthgradeboys engagedinsignificantly fewerMVPAsthansame-grade girls. These fmdings supportthe conclusion that a substantial proportion of children in the study population obtained inadequateamountsofactivitiesduringthestudyperiodofthree days.Despiteenrollmentin a daily35-minphysicaleducation programand lO-min recess,theschoolprovidedsignificantly fewer LMVPAs than the out-of-school time period. Hence, national goals should call for daily physical education that providesLMVPAfor each child. Research is neededto determinetheextentto whichthese patterns of participation in physical activity are widespread among children, the duration in minutes of participation in MVPA,and how the frequency and amountof activityvaries aschildrenage.Tobetterchronicletheextentanddistribution ofchildren'sphysical activity, moreprecisemeansofassessing children's physicalactivitymustbe developedandemployed in prospective studies.
References American College of Sports Medicine (1980). Guidelinesfor graded exercise testing and exerciseprescription (2nd ed.) Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger. Baranowski, T., Dworkin, R. J., Cieslik, C. J., Hooks, P., Clearman, D. R., Ray, L., Dunn, J. K., & Nader, P. R. (1984). Reliability and validity of self report of aerobic activity: Family health project. ResearchQuarterlyfor ExerciseandSport,55,309-317. Baranowski, T., Tsong, Y., Hooks, P., Cieslik, C., & Nader, P. R. (1987). Aerobic physical activity among third to sixth grade children. JournalofDevelopmental andBehavioralPediatrics, 8,203-206.
Blair, S. N., Kohl ill, H. W., Paffenbarger, R. S., Jr., Clark, D. G., Cooper, K. H., & Gibbons, L. W. (1989). Physical fitness and all-cause mortality. Journal of the American Medical Association, 262, 2395-2401. Caspersen, C. J., Christenson, G. M., & Pollard, R. A. (1986). Status of the 1990 physical fitness and exercise objectives: Evidence from NHIS1985. PublicHealth Reports,101, 587- 592. Clark, D. G., & Blair, S. N. (1988). Physical activity and prevention ofobesity in childhoood. InN. A. Krasneger, G.D. Grave, &N. Kretchmer (Eds.), Childhood obesity: A biobehavioral perspective (pp. 121-142). Caldwell, N.J.: Telford Press. Durant, R. H., Linder, C. W., & Mahoney, O. M. (1983). The relationship between habitual physical activity and serum lipoproteins in white male adolescents. Journal of Adolescent HealthCare, 4, 235-239. Freedman, D. S., Shear, C. L., Shrinivasan, S. R., Webber, L. S., & Berenson, G. S. (1985). Tracking of serum lipids and lipoproteins in children over an 8-year period: The Bogalusa Heart Study. PreventiveMedicine, 14, 203-216. Gilliam, T. B., Freedson, P. S., Geenen, D. L., & Shahraray, B. (1981). Physical activity patterns determined by heart rate monitoring in 6-7 year-old children. Medicineand Sciencein Sports and Exercise, 13, 65-67. Haskell, W. L., Montoye, H. J., & Orenstein, D. (1985). Physical activity and exercise to achieve health-related physical fitness components. PublicHealthReports,100, 202-212. Krahenbuhl, G. S., Skinner, J. S., & Kohrt, W. M. (1985). Developmental aspects of maximal aerobic power in children. In R. L. Terjung (Ed.), Exercisescienceandsportsresearch (pp. 503538). New York: Macmillan. Lauer, R. M., Lee J., & Clarke, W. R. (1989). Factors affecting the relationship betweeen childhood and adult cholesterol levels: The Muscatine Study. Pediatrics, 82, 309-318. MacConnie, S. E., Gilliam, T. B., Geenen, D. L., & Pels ill, A. E. (1982). Daily physical activity patterns of prepubertal children involved in a vigorous exercise program. International Journal ofSportsMedicine, 3, 202-207. Paffenbarger, R. S., & Hyde, R. T. (1984). Exercise in the prevention of coronary heart disease. PreventiveMedicine, 13,3-22. Paffenbarger, R. S., Hyde, R. T., Wing, A. L., & Hsieh, C. (1986). Physical activity, all-cause mortality, and longevity of college alumni. New EnglandJournal ofMedicine, 314, 605- 613. Parcel,G. S., Simons-Morton.B, G.,O'Hara,N.M., Baranowski,T., Kolbe, L. J., & Bee D. E. (1987). School promotion of healthful diet and exercise behavior: An integration of organizational change and social learning theory interventions. Journal of SchoolHealth, 57, 150-156. Pate, R. R., & Blair, S. N. (1978). Exercise and the prevention of atherosclerosis: Pediatric implications. In W. Strong (Ed.), Pediatricaspectsofatherosclerosis (pp 251-286). New York: Grune & Stratton. Powell, K. E., Thompson, P. D., Caspersen, C. J., & Kendrick, J. S. (1987). Physical activity and the incidence of coronary heart disease. Annual ReviewsofPublicHealth, 8, 253-287. Ross, J. G., & Gilbert, G. G. (1985). The National Children and Youth Fitness Study: A summary of fmdings. JournalofPhysical Education, Recreation, & Dance,56(1), 45-50.
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Footnote
Ross, J. G., & Pate R. R. (1987). The National Children and Youth Fitness Study n. A summary of fmdings. Journal ofPhysical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 58(9),51-56. SASISTAT User's Guide. Version 6.03 ed. (1988). Cary, NC: SAS Institute. Simons-Morton, B. G., O'Hara, N. M., Simons-Morton, D. G., & Parcel, G. S. (1987). Children and fitness: A public health perspective. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 58, 295-303. Simons-Morton, B. G., Parcel, G. S., O'Hara, N. M., Blair, S. N., & Pate, R. R. (1988). Health related physical fitness in childhood: Status and recommendations. Annual Review Public Health, 9, 403-425. Stephens, T.,Jacobs, D. R., Jr., & White,C. C. (1985). A descriptive epidemiology of leisure time physical activity. Public Health Reports, 100, 147-158. Strazzullo, P., Cappuccio, F. P., Trevisan, M., de Leo, A., Krogh, V., Giorgione, N., & Mancini, M. (1988). Leisure time physical activity and blood pressure in schoolchildren. American Journal of Epidemiology, 127, 726-733. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1986). The 1990 Health Objectives for the Nation: A midcourse review. Washington, DC: Public Health Service. Walberg, 1., & Ward, D. (1985). Role of physical activity in the etiology and treatment of childhood obesity. Pediatrician, 2, 82-88.
1. Form available from first author on request.
Authors' Note This project was supported in part by Nlll..BI, NIH grant
#33376.
Submitted: August 15,1989 Revision accepted: February 12,1990 Bruce G. Simons-Morton is an associate professor, NancyM. 0' Hara is a research assistant professor, Guy S. Parcelis director and professor, and Iris Wei Huang is senior data analyst at the Center for Health Promotion Research and Development, School of Public Health, The University of TexasHealth ScienceCenter, Houston, Texas. TomBaranowski is Professor of Pediatrics, Georgia Prevention Institute. Medical College of Georgia, Augusta. Brad Wilson is a statistical data analyst in Biostatistics, Washington University,St.Louis,Missouri. Addresscorrespondence toBruceG. Simons-Morton, EdD, MPH, Center for Health Promotion Research andDevelopment, W-920 RAS Building, P.O.Box 20186, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77225.
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