Prevalence of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior among Chinese Children and Adolescents: Variations, Gaps, and Recommendations

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Physical-activity (PA) and sedentary-behavior (SB) assessment is of particular importance in the promotion of health in young people. However, there is no comprehensive overview of PA and SB from national surveys among Chinese children and adolescents. Following a literature search for Chinese national health surveys, 11 papers from six national surveys were found. Of the included studies, the majority applied self-reported questionnaires to estimate the prevalence of PA and SB. Owing to different definitions of the prevalence of PA and SB and various measures, a large variation in prevalence of PA and SB was observed. Such variations were attributable to methodological and practical issues. This study highlights the current gaps in estimating the national prevalence of PA and SB among Chinese children and adolescents, which should be addressed. To improve the quality of PA and SB surveillance, standardized measurement protocols to estimate the prevalence of PA and SB more accurately among Chinese children and adolescents are urgently required.

Related collections

Most cited references 31

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents: a pooled analysis of 298 population-based surveys with 1·6 million participants

Regina Guthold, Gretchen Stevens, Leanne Riley … (2020)

Summary Background Physical activity has many health benefits for young people. In 2018, WHO launched More Active People for a Healthier World, a new global action on physical activity, including new targets of a 15% relative reduction of global prevalence of insufficient physical activity by 2030 among adolescents and adults. We describe current prevalence and trends of insufficient physical activity among school-going adolescents aged 11–17 years by country, region, and globally. Methods We did a pooled analysis of cross-sectional survey data that were collected through random sampling with a sample size of at least 100 individuals, were representative of a national or defined subnational population, and reported prevalence of of insufficient physical activity by sex in adolescents. Prevalence had to be reported for at least three of the years of age within the 10–19-year age range. We estimated the prevalence of insufficient physical activity in school-going adolescents aged 11–17 years (combined and by sex) for individual countries, for four World Bank income groups, nine regions, and globally for the years 2001–16. To derive a standard definition of insufficient physical activity and to adjust for urban-only survey coverage, we used regression models. We estimated time trends using multilevel mixed-effects modelling. Findings We used data from 298 school-based surveys from 146 countries, territories, and areas including 1·6 million students aged 11–17 years. Globally, in 2016, 81·0% (95% uncertainty interval 77·8–87·7) of students aged 11–17 years were insufficiently physically active (77·6% [76·1–80·4] of boys and 84·7% [83·0–88·2] of girls). Although prevalence of insufficient physical activity significantly decreased between 2001 and 2016 for boys (from 80·1% [78·3–81·6] in 2001), there was no significant change for girls (from 85·1% [83·1–88·0] in 2001). There was no clear pattern according to country income group: insufficient activity prevalence in 2016 was 84·9% (82·6–88·2) in low-income countries, 79·3% (77·2–87·5) in lower–middle-income countries, 83·9% (79·5–89·2) in upper–middle-income countries, and 79·4% (74·0–86·2) in high-income countries. The region with the highest prevalence of insufficient activity in 2016 was high-income Asia Pacific for both boys (89·0%, 62·8–92·2) and girls (95·6%, 73·7–97·9). The regions with the lowest prevalence were high-income western countries for boys (72·1%, 71·1–73·6), and south Asia for girls (77·5%, 72·8–89·3). In 2016, 27 countries had a prevalence of insufficient activity of 90% or more for girls, whereas this was the case for two countries for boys. Interpretation The majority of adolescents do not meet current physical activity guidelines. Urgent scaling up of implementation of known effective policies and programmes is needed to increase activity in adolescents. Investment and leadership at all levels to intervene on the multiple causes and inequities that might perpetuate the low participation in physical activity and sex differences, as well as engagement of youth themselves, will be vital to strengthen the opportunities for physical activity in all communities. Such action will improve the health of this and future young generations and support achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Funding WHO.

0 comments Cited 856 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Physical activity and sedentary behavior among schoolchildren: a 34-country comparison.

Christine Autenrieth, Regina Guthold, Julia Riley … (2010)

To describe and compare levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior in schoolchildren from 34 countries across 5 WHO Regions. The analysis included 72,845 schoolchildren from 34 countries that participated in the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) and conducted data collection between 2003 and 2007. The questionnaire included questions on overall physical activity, walking, or biking to school, and on time spent sitting. Very few students engaged in sufficient physical activity. Across all countries, 23.8% of boys and 15.4% of girls met recommendations, with the lowest prevalence in Philippines and Zambia (both 8.8%) and the highest in India (37.5%). The prevalence of walking or riding a bicycle to school ranged from 18.6% in United Arab Emirates to 84.8% in China. In more than half of the countries, more than one third of the students spent 3 or more hours per day on sedentary activities, excluding the hours spent sitting at school and doing homework. The great majority of students did not meet physical activity recommendations. Additionally, levels of sedentariness were high. These findings require immediate action, and efforts should be made worldwide to increase levels of physical activity among schoolchildren. Copyright (c) 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

0 comments Cited 142 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Article: not found

Assessment of Physical Activity among Children and Adolescents: A Review and Synthesis

Harold Kohl, Janet Fulton, Carl Caspersen (2000)

0 comments Cited 94 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Environ Res Public Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Environ Res Public Health

Journal ID (publisher-id): ijerph

Title: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Publisher: MDPI

ISSN (Print): 1661-7827

ISSN (Electronic): 1660-4601

Publication date (Electronic): 28 April 2020

Publication date (Print): May 2020

Volume: 17

Issue: 9

Electronic Location Identifier: 3066

Affiliations

[1 ]School of Physical Education and Humanity, Nanjing Sport Institute, Nanjing 210014, China

[2 ]Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia

[3 ]School of Physical Education and Sport Training, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China

[4 ]Centre for Sport, Exercise, and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK

[5 ]School of Physical Education and Sport, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

[6 ]Shanghai Research Center for Physical Fitness and Health of Children and Adolescents, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China

[7 ]Department of Physical Education, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518061, China

Author notes

[* ]Correspondence: sitongchen@ 123456szu.edu.cn

[†]

These two authors contribute equally to this work.

Author information

Cain Clark https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6610-4617

Yang Liu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1251-3025

Si-Tong Chen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8975-7565

Article

Publisher ID: ijerph-17-03066

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17093066

PMC ID: 7246713

PubMed ID: 32354193

SO-VID: cb8ff7ec-67c7-4d9d-bc3a-871a3448e362

License:

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Prevalence of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior among Chinese Children and Adolescents: Variations, Gaps, and Recommendations

Read this article at

Abstract

Related collections

Chinese Journal of School Health

Most cited references 31

Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents: a pooled analysis of 298 population-based surveys with 1·6 million participants

Physical activity and sedentary behavior among schoolchildren: a 34-country comparison.

Assessment of Physical Activity among Children and Adolescents: A Review and Synthesis

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Author information

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 74

Cited by 21

Most referenced authors 711