Abstract
BackgroundPatterns of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior have important implications for child health. The purpose of the study was to describe the PA and sedentary behavior among Chinese children.MethodsThe study analyzed the PA and sedentary behavior status of 38,744 Chinese children aged 6–17 years, based on the data from China National Nutrition and Health Survey (CNNHS) in 2010–2012.ResultsChinese children spent 61.6 min/d on school-time PA and the proportion with 60 min and over on school-time PA was 52.5%. The average transportation time was 38.5 min/d and the main mode for children was walking (50.9%), followed by taking private vehicles (19.4%), taking public transportation (16.4%) and cycling (13.3%). Approximately 70% Chinese children did domestic PA and they spent 17.2 min/d on it. Children spent 2.9 h per day on leisure-time sedentary behaviors and 85.8% of them engaged in sedentary behaviors longer than 2 h/d. The proportion of children participating in leisure-time PA was 35.4%and they performed moderate-to-vigorous PA on 3.4 days per week with average 44.9 min per day. Boys were more active in school-time PA, leisure-time PA and transportation, while girls spent more time on domestic PA and homework. More older children took active transportation and spent more time on domestic PA, leisure-time PA and sedentary behaviors compared with younger children. Children in urban area were more likely to take inactive transportation and participate in leisure-time PA, spent less time on domestic PA while more time on sedentary behaviors compared with their counterpart.ConclusionsChinese children performed little physical activity and spent long time engaging in sedentary behaviors. Their physical activity and sedentary behaviors varied by gender, age and area.
Highlights
Patterns of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior have important implications for child health
The purpose of the study was to describe the status of PA and sedentary behavior of Chinese children, investigate how PA and sedentary behavior varied by gender, age and area, to provide basic information to aid in developing PA intervention strategies
The proportion of children who spent more than 60 min on school-time PA was 52.5%, and there was no significant difference between different gender, age groups and areas (Table 2)
Summary
Patterns of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior have important implications for child health. The purpose of the study was to describe the PA and sedentary behavior among Chinese children. The number of obese children and adolescents (aged five to 19 years) has risen tenfold in the past four decades [1]. Song et al BMC Public Health (2019) 19:936 world’s adolescents aged 11–17 years were insufficiently physically active in 2010 [10]. Independent of PA levels, sedentary behavior is associated with increased risk of obesity, and has a negative impact on several health outcomes [6, 11,12,13,14,15]. An ever-increasing sedentary lifestyle is becoming widespread among children [11]
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.