Moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity during school hours in a representative sample of 10–11-year-olds in Scotland

Wong, Lan Sum and Reilly, John J. and McCrorie, Paul and Harrington, Deirdre M. (2023) Moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity during school hours in a representative sample of 10–11-year-olds in Scotland. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 26 (2). pp. 120-124. ISSN 1878-1861 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2022.10.014)

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Abstract

Growing concern about children and adolescent physical inactivity has made the promotion of physical activity a public health priority. International recommendations suggest children should accumulate at least 30 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school hours. This study assessed levels of objectively-measured MVPA in a large nationally representative sample of Scottish children aged 10-11. Risk factors for not meeting the school-hours MVPA recommendation were examined. Cross-sectional. Mean time spent in MVPA during school hours across five weekdays was measured using Actigraph accelerometry (May 2015-May 2016). Binary logistic regression, presented as odds ratio (O.R.) and confidence intervals (C.I.), explored associations between meeting/not meeting the recommendation by sex, socioeconomic status (SES), season, and urban/rural residence in 2022. Valid data were obtained from 773 children (53.9% girls, 46.1% boys) from 471 schools. Mean daily school-hours MVPA was 29 (SD 11) minutes; 42.7% of children reached the recommendation. The odds of girls (O.R. 0.43; C.I. 0.32, 0.57) meeting the recommendation was significantly lower (p