Seasonality in swimming and cycling: Exploring a limitation of accelerometer based studies.

Flo Harrison,Andy P Jones,Esther M.F Van Sluijs,Andrew J Atkin

doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2017.04.006

Flo Harrison, Andy P Jones + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2017.04.006

Copy DOI

Abstract

Accelerometer-based studies of children's physical activity have reported seasonal patterns in activity levels. However, the inability of many accelerometers to detect activity while the wearer is swimming or cycling may introduce a bias to the estimation of seasonality if participation in these activities are themselves seasonally patterned. We explore seasonal patterns in children's swimming and cycling among a sample of 7–8 year olds (N = 591) participating in the Millennium Cohort Study, UK. Participating children wore an accelerometer for one week on up to five occasions over the year and their parents completed a diary recording daily minutes spent swimming and cycling. Both swimming and cycling participation showed seasonal patterns, with 2.7 (SE 0.8) more minutes swimming and 5.7 (0.7) more minutes cycling performed in summer compared to winter. Adding swimming and cycling time to accelerometer-determined MVPA increased the summer-winter difference in MVPA from 16.6 (1.6) to 24.9 min. The seasonal trend in swimming and cycling appears to follow the same pattern as accelerometer-measured MVPA. Studies relying solely on accelerometers may therefore underestimate seasonal differences in children's activity.

Highlights

Several studies have reported a seasonal pattern in young people's objectively measured physical activity, with higher activity levels recorded in the spring and summer than autumn and winter (Loucaides et al, 2004; Riddoch et al, 2007; Cleland et al, 2008; Gracia-Marco et al, 2013; Hjorth et al, 2013; Atkin et al, 2016)
We explore seasonal patterns in children's swimming and cycling among a sample of 7–8 year olds (N = 591) participating in the Millennium Cohort Study, UK
Parent-reports of 7–8 year olds' time swimming and cycling show seasonal patterns, with more time spent in both activities during spring and summer compared to autumn and winter

Summary

Introduction

Several studies have reported a seasonal pattern in young people's objectively measured physical activity, with higher activity levels recorded in the spring and summer than autumn and winter (Loucaides et al, 2004; Riddoch et al, 2007; Cleland et al, 2008; Gracia-Marco et al, 2013; Hjorth et al, 2013; Atkin et al, 2016). An often cited limitation of such work (Loucaides et al, 2004; Rich et al, 2012; Hjorth et al, 2013; Atkin et al, 2016), is the inability of devices such as accelerometers and pedometers to record activity while participants are swimming and cycling; they must be removed during aquatic activities and do not detect the full scale of movement when the wearer is cycling (Chen and Bassett, 2005) This may introduce bias into the findings of these studies if these non-recorded activities themselves show seasonal variation. To examine the magnitude of this problem, we describe seasonal variation in parent-reported time spent swimming and cycling in UK children aged 7–8 years from the Millennium Cohort Study

Methods

Results

Conclusion