Abstract
Purpose: The insufficient physical activity (PA) of adolescents is a global challenge, and there is a need to find opportunities to engage youth in active lifestyles. The majority of adolescents do not meet the recommended guidelines of physical activity, and especially females have low levels of activity as they approach adolescence. The goal of this study was to obtain insight into Finnish adolescent girls’ objectively measured physical activity by evaluating the effects of an activity-based homework intervention on low, medium, and high-active girls during after-school hours. Method: A physical activity homework intervention was put into place for female adolescent girls. Physical activity was measured by accelerometers and a self-reported diary from 87 girls aged 13 to 15 years. Results: Results indicated that high-active girls maintained their activity until the last measurement hour (10 pm), while the moderate- and low-active girls’ activity declined towards the evening hours. The high-active girls participated the most frequently in organized sports activities, and the low-active girls were the most active in participating in household chores. The PE homework intervention increased girls’ activity time an average of 34 minutes per week. Conclusion: This study offers a picture of the diverse nature of the physical activity that adolescent girls engage in during after-school hours and shows the potential of PE homework assignments to reduce sedentary time and thereby increase physically active time during after-school hours.
Highlights
Global recommendations state that adolescents should engage in 60 or more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) each day (ACSM, 2018)
The light activity accounted for 13.9% of their total waking hours, while moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) accounted for 11.2% of their total waking hours
The participants were divided into activity groups according to their total mean metabolic equivalent (MET) values
Summary
Global recommendations state that adolescents should engage in 60 or more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) each day (ACSM, 2018). Recommendations suggest that youth should regularly engage in specific physical activities, such as aerobic-based activity, resistance training, and stretching and flexibility exercises. Including in Finland, girls are at risk of falling short of the guidelines (ACSM, 2018; Hallal et al, 2012; Husu et al, 2019; Pate et al, 2009). Adolescence is a vulnerable time, as this transition marked with biological changes coincides with a significant decrease in physical activity for youth, especially girls (Abdelghaffar et al, 2019; Martins et al, 2015). There is a considerable amount of research to date that suggests
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