Physical activity of children and adolescents and its influencing factors

Abstract

Objective To examine children and adolescents physical activity level and its influencing factors based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Methods A total of 353 students aged 8-15 were chosen as samples. Accelerometers were used to measure the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) time and a TPB scale was used to measure the TPB constructs. Results ①Research results showed that only 5.3% of the participating children and adolescents reached the recommended 60 min MVPA each day. ②There were significant gender differences in the attitude (t=1.360, P 0.05). Significant grade differences were also observed for attitude (F(5, 352)=2.627, P<0.05), MVPA intention(F(5, 352)=2.890, P<0.05) and MVPA time (F(5, 352)=6.156, P<0.01). ③The regression results showed that MVPA intention (β=0.130, P<0.01) was significantly related to MVPA time and it explained 0.4% variance. Perceived behavioral control(β=0.496, P<0.01) and attitude(β=0.155, P<0.01) were significantly associated with MVPA intention and explained 1.8% variance. Conclusion The average MVPA time of children and adolescents in this study do not achieve the international recommendation level and the behavioral intention determines their MVPA time. Key words: The theory of planned behavior; Moderate and vigorous physical activity physical activity; Children and adolescents