Abstract
<p>Physical activity (PA) is a parameter of children's life that is straight connected to the benefits of their life (protection against obesity, better psychological profile, and predisposition for increased levels of PA as adult etc.). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate parameters of PA during Physical Education (PE) classes and to explore the subjects that the children participate in the PE course. PA, PE, and sedentary behaviors were assessed by a self-administrated PA checklist, proper for children. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from measured body weight and height. A representative sample of Greek boys and girls aged 10 to 12 years (N=3195) participated in the study. Results showed that boys had higher levels of total and vigorous-intensity PA (VPA), than girls (all p-values&lt;0.05), while girls presented higher light-to-moderate intensity PA as compared to boys. In those days that students participated in PE classes, total PA and VPA were higher in comparison with days didn't, in both sexes (p&lt;0.001), while, a greater proportion of children met the current recommendations for PA (86.1% vs. 69.1% for boys and 68.4% vs. 53.5% for girls). During PE classes, boys participated in a greater proportion than girls in basketball and soccer (all p-values&lt;0.05), while, more girls in comparison to boys participated in volleyball, dance, and jump-rope (all p-values&lt;0.05). Stratified data analysis by BMI category among children who participated in PE classes did not reveal significant differences in time participated in PE components among categories, except for games (e.g. chase, tag) among boys. In conclusion, boys have higher levels of total PA than girls, while, it seems that school and PE classes play a significant role in students' levels of PA which could grow up further with interventions as the increase of hours in PE lessons.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0992/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>
Highlights
Introduction and Literature ReviewPhysical activity (PA) is a parameter of children's life associated with health benefits such as avoiding excessive weight gain, lower blood pressure, better psychological profile, predisposition to increased PA as adults, etc. (Blair & Brodney, 1999)
Studies in school children have shown that the main risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease (HDL-C, HDL-C/TC, systolic pressure), are directly related to the levels of PA (Flouris, Bouziotas, Christodoulos, & Koutedakis, 2008), while generalized prognosis models suggest that changes over time in obesity are significantly associated with PA (Koutedakis, Bouziotas, Flouris, & Nelson, 2005)
When we compared the children by Physical Education (PE) classes (Table 2), we found that children who participated in PE class had significantly higher total PA (146±56 min/d for boys and 138±55 min/d for girls) and vigorous-intensity PA (VPA) (83±45 min/d for boys and 43±40 min/d for girls) compared to children did not participate, while statistically significant more boys and girls participated in PE classes met the recommendations for PA than those did not participate (86.1% vs. 69.1% for boys and 68.4% vs. 53.5% for girls)
Summary
Introduction and Literature ReviewPhysical activity (PA) is a parameter of children's life associated with health benefits such as avoiding excessive weight gain, lower blood pressure, better psychological profile, predisposition to increased PA as adults, etc. (Blair & Brodney, 1999). Physical activity (PA) is a parameter of children's life associated with health benefits such as avoiding excessive weight gain, lower blood pressure, better psychological profile, predisposition to increased PA as adults, etc. The World Health Organization recommendations for PA state that children should engage in moderate to high-intensity PA for at least 60 minutes a day to achieve optimal health benefits (World Health Organization, 2016). Several studies in children have shown a tendency to move away from the active transition to school (by walking or cycling), while, in addition, it appears that a significant number of children do not meet current PA recommendations, results that are more visible in girls (Lee, Orenstein, & Richardson 2008; Tudor-Locke, Ainsworth, & Popkin, 2001)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
