Physical activity of children from a small rural town, South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1: Group characteristics and IOTF classification.⁸

Descriptive variables	Group A: 12–14 years		Group B: 9–11 years		Group C: 5–6 years
	Boys	Girls	Boys	Girls	Boys	Girls
Gender (n = )	13	18	12	18	8	9
Mean age in months (SD)	153.3 (6.1)	149.6 (6.7)	125.2 (8.9)	123.2 (9.9)	66.5 (5.4)	65.8 (3.7)
Mean BMI (SD)	19.4 (4.5)	20 (3.3)	17.1 (4.5)	16.7 (3.0)	16 (0.7)	15.9 (2.1)
Underweight (< 18.5)	8%	6%	16.5%	28%	0%	11%
Normal range (18.5–24.9)	61%	67%	67%	56%	100%	67%
Overweight (25–29.9)	23%	27%	0%	11%	0%	11%
Obesity (30–34.9)	8%	0%	16.5%	5%	0%	11%
Morbid obesity (≥ 35)	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%

Table 2: Pedometer descriptive statistics.

Descriptive variables	Group A: 12–14 years			Group B: 9–11 years			Group C: 5–6 years
	Boys	Girls	Mann-Whitney p-value	Boys	Girls	Mann-Whitney p-value	Boys	Girls	Mann-Whitney p-value
Mean total steps per day			0.045^*			0.005^*			0.441
Minimum value	4,385	1,982		8,829	4,340		611	1,843
Maximum value	13,734	11,939		17,362	14,398		12,275	11,735
Median	8,892	6,450		13,081	9,457		7,123	5,793
Mean	8,524	6,967		12,808	9,367		7,198	6,376
Interquartile range	6 919–9 394	5 968–7 575		10 414–14 742	7 878–11 419		6 141–9 085	4 405–7 908
Mean aerobic steps per day			0.903			0.072			0.957
Minimum value	0	0		0	0		0	0
Maximum value	4,298	3,967		3,715	1,235		775	353
Median	300	230		414	230		0	0
Mean	661	553		977	316		162	112
Interquartile range	113–522	124–714		252–1 262	0–454		0–259	0–169
Mean aerobic walking time (min) per day			0.793			0.075			0.872
Minimum value	0	0		0	0		0	0
Maximum value	41.71	39.29		41.29	12.14		8	3.29
Median	3.14	2.36		4.36	2.5		0	0
Mean	6.67	5.46		10.12	3.17		1.73	1.06
Interquartile range	1.43–5.58	1.43–7.00		2.57–12.43	0–4.71		0–2.93	0–1.86
Mean calories (Kcal) per day			0.101			0.005^*			0.336
Minimum value	72	47		163	71		7	21
Maximum value	469	257		378	306		151	151
Median	251	152		216	155		89	71
Mean	221	159		234	173		91	77
Interquartile range	138–287	120–212		184–267	142–206		77–117	50–94
Mean distance (m) per day			0.034^*			0.005^*			0.441
Minimum value	2,799	1,393		6,013	2,817		181	55
Maximum value	10,974	8,010		13,019	8,700		3,679	3,516
Median	5,953	4,461		7,996	6,286		2,133	1,733
Mean	6,223	4,829		8,416	6,102		2,156	1,908
Interquartile range	4 687–7 460	4 094–5 619		6 690–9 716	5 203–6 923		1 837–2 722	1 314–2 367

^* : p < 0.05

Figure 1: Mean steps per day for each gender age group as per weekday.

Figure 2: A comparison of this study population’s mean step counts (boys’ total and girls’ total) with the CANPLAY data norms (boys’ norm and girls’ norm) for different age groups.⁹

Table 3: Spearman correlation coefficient (r_s) and the statistical significance of the coefficient.

Group	Boys	Girls
Group A (p-value)	0.486 (0.094)	−0.249 (0.320)
Group B (p-value)	−0.189 (0.557)	−0.049 (0.849)
Group C (p-value)	0.262 (0.531)	−0.333 (0.381)
Total (p-value)	−0.142 (0.430)	−0.195 (0.198)

Cole TJ, Lobstein T. Extended international (IOTF) body mass index cut-offs for thinness, overweight and obesity. Pediatr Obes. 2012;7(4):284–294. doi: 10.1111/j.2047-6310.2012.0006410.1111/ijpo.2012.7.issue-4

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Craig CL, Cameron C, Tudor-Locke C. CANPLAY pedometer normative reference data for 21,271 children and 12,956 adolescents. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2013;45(1):123–129. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31826a0f3a [PMID: 22843106].10.1249/MSS.0b013e31826a0f3a

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