Patterning of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior at and Away from School in Preadolescent Children

ABSTRACT

Background: Understanding how and where children accumulate their physical activity (PA) and sedentary minutes throughout the day has important implications for behavioral interventions.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the duration and intensity of habitual PA and sedentary time (SED) at and away from school among preadolescent children.

Methods: Data from twenty-one children ages 7–11 (57% girls; 57% nonwhite; 24% overweight/obese) were included in this analysis. Proportion of time spent in PA, SED, and SED bouts were examined on school days (in-school and out-of-school) and non-school days via accelerometry.

Results: When comparing school time with non-school time on school days, children accumulated a higher proportion of light PA while in-school [49.3% (i.e. 5 min 18 s) vs. 39.6% (i.e. 3 h 53 min), p = .01]. While at school, the proportion of time spent in SED was less [46.3% (i.e. 3 h 7 min) vs. 56.3% (i.e. 5 h 32 min), p = .01] and fewer children spent time engaged in prolonged sitting compared to out-of-school [uninterrupted SED for 30 min 52.4% (i.e. 11 children) vs. 85.7% (i.e. 18 children), p = .02]

Discussion: These findings suggest children are proportionately most active and least sedentary when at school, yet children only accumulated approximately 18 min of moderate-to-vigorous PA in this environment.

Translation to Health Education Practice: These preliminary findings can help to inform physical activity programming designed to promote life-long physical activity behaviors in children.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Active Class Space Metabolic Benefits Study Team. In addition, we are grateful for study participants and their families for their involvement.

Disclosure statement

There are no conflicts of interest to report.

Additional information

Funding

This work utilized Core Services supported by grant DK089503 of NIH to the University of Michigan. This work was supported by the University of Michigan MCubed Seed Funding Program and the University of Michigan School of Public Health Momentum Center. Research reported in this publication was also supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (F31 HD098870, Erica Twardzik, PI). The results of this study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, or inappropriate data manipulation. This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (No. NCT02831309).