Abstract
BackgroundThe literature on seasonality in children and youth's physical activity participation is inconsistent. The aims of this study were to: 1) compare physical activity across seasons and describe activity patterns within seasons, and 2) to determine compliance with current physical activity recommendations across seasons among 9- and 15-year-olds living in a climatically diverse country.MethodsParticipants were 2,299 9- and 15-year-olds from all regions in Norway. Physical activity was assessed using the Actigraph accelerometer for 4 consecutive days. Physical activity data were collected during winter, spring and fall. General linear models were used to study the associations between physical activity and season.ResultsNine-year-old children had significantly higher mean physical activity levels in spring than in winter and fall. In the two latter seasons, physical activity levels were especially low after school hours and on weekends. Logistic regression models demonstrated that 9-year-olds had 3.3 times (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.08, 5.18) higher odds of meeting recommended levels of physical activity in spring than in winter. No associations were found between mean physical activity level and season among the 15-year-olds. However, the adolescents also had higher odds (OR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.32) of meeting the physical activity recommendations in spring than in winter.ConclusionIn a large population-based sample, we observed substantial seasonal differences in physical activity among 9-year-olds, and the activity pattern varied across the seasons. The results emphasize the need to take season into account when developing physical activity interventions for children. Season appears to have less influence on adolescent's physical activity; interventions for increasing physical activity in this group could therefore be implemented throughout the year.
Highlights
The literature on seasonality in children and youth's physical activity participation is inconsistent
The mean anthropometric data and mean physical activity data by sex and age group are shown in Table 1, which shows the numbers of participants studied in each of the three seasons
Values are mean (SD) unless otherwise mentioned Physical activity (PA). physical activity; MVPA, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity aTotal minutes of recorded physical activity each day bThe number (%) of participants studied in each season Winter, 1 December – 28 February; Spring, 1 March – 15 June; Fall, 1 September – 30 November
Summary
The literature on seasonality in children and youth's physical activity participation is inconsistent. Despite the immediate and likely long-term benefits of physical activity in childhood [1,2], many children and adolescents, fail to meet the recommended 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily [3,4,5]. The use of accelerometers to assess physical activity provides an opportunity to improve the understanding about the duration, intensity, and frequency of activity Such knowledge is useful for intervention and health promotion planning, as it might be able to identify seasons that can be targeted for promotion of physical activity
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