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Abstract
Aim: This study sought to examine ambulatory physical activity levels in adolescents from the UK and Belgium.
Methods: Following ethics approval, 2760 children (1247 boys, 1513 girls), aged 9–14 years from Belgium (n = 1614) and the UK (n = 1146), wore a pedometer for 4 days including at least 1 weekend day. Body mass index (BMI) was determined from height and mass.
Results: A 2 (gender) × 2 (country) way ANCOVA, controlling for age and BMI, revealed a significant country-by-gender interaction for steps/day (p = 0.0001). In both Belgium and the UK, boys were more physically active than girls (both p = 0.0001), but the difference between boys and girls was greater for Belgian than UK children.
Conclusion: These results suggest there are differences in the ambulatory physical activity patterns of children in the UK and Belgium.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.