Author:

Keywords:

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, OBESITY, PAEDIATRIC

Abstract:

Introduction: The positive effects of regular physical activity (PA) on health are indisputable but many children do not engage in sufficient PA for benefit (Hallal et al., 2012). However, substantial variation in PA exists between countries, suggesting that PA levels are influenced by geographical location (Nillson et al., 2009). For this reason cross-cultural research is important in guiding interventions and PA policy. However, data comparing objectively measured PA levels in children across Europe are lacking. This study compared pedometer determined PA in children from the UK and Belgium. Methods: Following ethics approval and informed consent, 2760 children (1247 boys, 1513 girls) aged 9-14 years from Leuven, Belgium (n =1614) and the West Midlands, UK (n = 1146) wore a Pedometer (Yamax Digiwalker SW-200) for at least 4 days including at least 1 weekend day and had their height (m) and body mass (kg) assessed from which Body Mass Index (BMI) was determined. Average Steps/day were taken as a measure of PA and the proportion of children meeting internationally recommended cut-offs for PA (Tudor-Locke et al., 2004) were calculated. Data were analysed using 2(gender) X 2 (country) way ANCOVA controlling for age and BMI. Results: Results indicated a significant country by gender interaction for steps/day (P = .0001). In both Belgium and the UK boys were more physically active than girls (P = .0001 in both cases) but the difference between boys and girls was greater for Belgian children than UK children. Mean ± SE of average steps/day was 16,799 ± 163.1 and 13,488 ± 149.4 for Belgian boys and girls respectively compared to 12,637 ± 199.2 and 11,782 ± 178.3 for UK boys and girls respectively. BMI was also significant as a covariate (P = .001) with every increase in kg/m2 associated with a decrease of 142.6 steps/day for Belgian children and 231.4 steps/day for UK children. Overweight/obesity prevalence was higher (20.6%) and the proportion of children meeting steps/day cut-points for health lower (37.2%) in UK children compared to Belgian children (15.5% and 59.9% respectively). Discussion: These results suggest that there are differences in PA levels between boys and girls in Belgium and the UK. Moreover, although girls in both countries accumulated significantly fewer steps/day than boys, the difference between boys and girls was less in the UK compared to Belgium. Such data is important in understanding cross-cultural differences in PA levels between European children. References: Hallal, PC. et al. (2012) Lancet, 380, 247-257; Nilsson, A. et al. (2009) Scand J Med Sci Sports, 19, 10-18; Tudor-Locke, C. et al. (2004) Prev Med, 38, 857-864.