Abstract
BackgroundWorldwide, roughly 80% of adolescents fail to meet World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations regarding physical activity, though there is substantial variation in adolescent physical activity prevalence across countries. This study explored whether country-level environmental differences explained cross-national variation in adolescent moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) and vigorous-intensity activity (VPA).MethodUsing the data of 138,014 11- to 15-year-olds from 29 European countries in the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, multilevel regression models examined the influence of four types of country-level environmental factors (physical, socio-cultural, economic, and political) on self-reported individual-level physical activity (MVPA and VPA).ResultsThe environmental variables explained 38% of country-level variance in MVPA and 81% of country-level variance in VPA. Lower annual average national temperature, higher community safety, lower average national household income and a weaker physical education policy were significantly associated with more MVPA. Greater urbanisation, lower annual average national temperature, higher adult physical activity and higher average national household income were significantly associated with more VPA.ConclusionsThe findings showed that national differences in the physical, socio-cultural and economic environment were related to adolescent physical activity. They point to potential avenues for future research looking at interactions between individual and environmental factors.
Highlights
Worldwide, roughly 80% of adolescents fail to meet World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations regarding physical activity, though there is substantial variation in adolescent physical activity prevalence across countries
The 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study found 41% of 11-year-olds in Finland, but only 13% of their counterparts in Italy, met WHO guidelines on daily moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA)
This study shows that national differences in the physical, socio-cultural, economic and policy environment were associated with individual differences in adolescent physical activity
Summary
Roughly 80% of adolescents fail to meet World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations regarding physical activity, though there is substantial variation in adolescent physical activity prevalence across countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends children and adolescents aged 5–17 accumulate at least 60 min a day of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), and undertake vigorous-intensity physical activities (VPA) at least three times per week [2]. These recommendations are founded on evidence that moderate-intensity physical activity 76% of Danish 15year-olds, but only 30% of their Albanian counterparts, participated in VPA outside school for two or more hours per week [16]
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