Physical activity practice and sports preferences in a group of Spanish schoolchildren depending on sex and parental care: a gender perspective

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Abstract

Background

Physical activity plays an important role in the maintenance of health, and it is especially important during childhood. However, the lack of information about differences in physical activity practice and sports preferences of children considering gender differences can result in non-effective policies that enhance inequalities between sexes. The aim of this study is to identify the sports preferences of Spanish schoolchildren and their physical activity practice behaviors depending on their sex and their parental care, analyzing the possible differences from a gender perspective.

Method

Three hundred sixty-four Spanish schoolchildren (179 girls, 185 boys) participated in this cross-sectional study. A daily physical activity questionnaire was used to evaluate physical activity level (PAL), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sports preferences and a socio-health questionnaire were used to collect data about parental care. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS and applying Student’s T-test for normal variables, Mann-Whitney U-test for non-parametrical variables, and chi-square (χ2) test for categorical variables. Subsequently, odds ratios were used to analyze associations between the physical activity practice of the children and parental care.

Results

PAL and time spent in MVPA was significantly lower for girls compared to boys (1.44 ± 0.07 vs. 1.46 ± 0.07, p < 0.001 and 0.74 ± 0.40 h/day vs. 0.90 ± 0.45 h/day; p < 0.001, respectively). Dancing, rhythmic gymnastics, skating, and water sports were practiced more by girls, while football, wrestling sports, handball, and racket sports were practiced more by boys ( p < 0.05). Children cared for by their fathers had higher odds for physical activity practice (OR = 1.995 (1.202–3.310), p = 0.008).

Conclusion

Physical activity among girls was less frequent and less intense. Girls opted for individual sports with artistic connotations, while boys often practiced more team contact sports. Furthermore, children are more physically actives when their father is in charge of them.

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Most cited references 44

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Canadian sedentary behaviour guidelines for children and youth.

Mark S. Tremblay, Allana G. LeBlanc, Ian Janssen … (2011)

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), in partnership with the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group (HALO) at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, and in collaboration with ParticipACTION, and others, has developed the Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Children (aged 5-11 years) and Youth (aged 12-17 years). The guidelines include a preamble to provide context, followed by the specific recommendations for sedentary behaviour. The entire development process was guided by the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument, which is the international standard for clinical practice guideline development. Thus, the guidelines have gone through a rigorous and transparent developmental process and the recommendations are based on evidence from a systematic review and interpretation of the research evidence. The final guidelines benefitted from an extensive online consultation process with 230 domestic and international stakeholders and key informants. The final guideline recommendations state that for health benefits, children (aged 5-11 years) and youth (aged 12-17 years) should minimize the time that they spend being sedentary each day. This may be achieved by (i) limiting recreational screen time to no more than 2 h per day - lower levels are associated with additional health benefits; and (ii) limiting sedentary (motorized) transport, extended sitting time, and time spent indoors throughout the day. These are the first evidence-based Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Children and Youth and provide important and timely recommendations for the advancement of public health based on a systematic synthesis, interpretation, and application of the current scientific evidence.

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Why Are Girls Less Physically Active than Boys? Findings from the LOOK Longitudinal Study

Rohan Telford, Richard Telford, Lisa Olive … (2016)

Background A gender-based disparity in physical activity (PA) among youth, whereby girls are less active than boys is a persistent finding in the literature. A greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying this difference has potential to guide PA intervention strategies. Methods Data were collected at age 8 and 12 years (276 boys, 279 girls) from 29 schools as part of the LOOK study. Multilevel linear models were fitted separately for boys and girls to examine effects of individual, family and environmental level correlates on pedometer measured PA. Cardio-respiratory fitness (multi-stage run), percent fat (DEXA), eye-hand coordination (throw and catch test) and perceived competence in physical education (questionnaire) were used as individual level correlates. At the family level, parent’s support and education (questionnaire) were used. School attended and extracurricular sport participation were included as environmental level correlates. Results Girls were 19% less active than boys (9420 vs 11360 steps/day, p<0.001, 95%CI [1844, 2626]). Lower PA among girls was associated with weaker influences at the school and family levels and through lower participation in extracurricular sport. School attended explained some of the variation in boys PA (8.4%) but not girls. Girls compared to boys had less favourable individual attributes associated with PA at age 8 years, including 18% lower cardio-respiratory fitness (3.5 vs 4.2, p<0.001, CI [0.5,0.9]), 44% lower eye-hand coordination (11.0 vs 17.3, p<0.001, CI [5.1,9.0]), higher percent body fat (28% vs 23%, p<0.001, CI [3.5,5.7]) and 9% lower perceived competence in physical education (7.7 vs 8.4, p<0.001, CI [0.2,0.9]). Participation in extracurricular sport at either age 8 or 12 years was protective against declines in PA over time among boys but not girls. Conclusion Girls PA was less favourably influenced by socio-ecological factors at the individual, family, school and environmental levels. These factors are potentially modifiable suggesting the gap in PA between boys and girls can be reduced. Strategies aiming to increase PA should be multicomponent and take into consideration that pathways to increasing PA are likely to differ among boys and girls.

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Sedentary behaviour and adiposity in youth: a systematic review of reviews and analysis of causality

Stuart Biddle, Enrique García Bengoechea, Glen Wiesner (2017)

Background Sedentary behaviour (sitting time) has becoming a very popular topic for research and translation since early studies on TV viewing in children in the 1980s. The most studied area for sedentary behaviour health outcomes has been adiposity in young people. However, the literature is replete with inconsistencies. Methods We conducted a systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to provide a comprehensive analysis of evidence and state-of-the-art synthesis on whether sedentary behaviours are associated with adiposity in young people, and to what extent any association can be considered ‘causal’. Searches yielded 29 systematic reviews of over 450 separate papers. We analysed results by observational (cross-sectional and longitudinal) and intervention designs. Results Small associations were reported for screen time and adiposity from cross-sectional evidence, but associations were less consistent from longitudinal studies. Studies using objective accelerometer measures of sedentary behaviour yielded null associations. Most studies assessed BMI/BMI-z. Interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour produced modest effects for weight status and adiposity. Accounting for effects from sedentary behaviour reduction alone is difficult as many interventions included additional changes in behaviour, such as physical activity and dietary intake. Analysis of causality guided by the classic Bradford Hill criteria concluded that there is no evidence for a causal association between sedentary behaviour and adiposity in youth, although a small dose-response association exists. Conclusions Associations between sedentary behaviour and adiposity in children and adolescents are small to very small and there is little to no evidence that this association is causal. This remains a complex field with different exposure and outcome measures and research designs. But claims for ‘clear’ associations between sedentary behaviour and adiposity in youth, and certainly for causality, are premature or misguided.

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Author and article information

Contributors

África Peral-Suárez:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2023-0298

africper@ucm.es

Esther Cuadrado-Soto: esther.cuadrado@ucm.es

José Miguel Perea: jmpereas@ucm.es

Beatriz Navia: bnavialo@ucm.es

Ana M. López-Sobaler: asobaler@ucm.es

Rosa M. Ortega: rortega@ucm.es

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Pediatr

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): BMC Pediatr

Title: BMC Pediatrics

Publisher: BioMed Central (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 1471-2431

Publication date (Electronic): 7 July 2020

Publication date PMC-release: 7 July 2020

Publication date Collection: 2020

Volume: 20

Electronic Location Identifier: 337

Affiliations

[1 ]GRID grid.4795.f, ISNI 0000 0001 2157 7667, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, , Faculty of Pharmacy at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, ; Madrid, Spain

[2 ]GRID grid.464699.0, ISNI 0000 0001 2323 8386, Department of Nutrition, , Faculty of Health Science at Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio, ; Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain

[3 ]GRID grid.4795.f, ISNI 0000 0001 2157 7667, Research Group VALORNUT-UCM (920030), , Universidad Complutense de Madrid, ; Madrid, Spain

Author information

África Peral-Suárez http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2023-0298

Article

Publisher ID: 2229

DOI: 10.1186/s12887-020-02229-z

PMC ID: 7339494

PubMed ID: 32635918

SO-VID: f236ca7e-6813-4772-b255-4089f7112fcb

License:

Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

History

Date received : 3 March 2020

Date accepted : 29 June 2020

Funding

Funded by: FundRef http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002911, Universidad Complutense de Madrid;

Award ID: PR6/13-18866, GR58/08, GR3/14, GR15/17 and FEI16/127.

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Pediatrics

Keywords: physical activity,sport preferences,schoolchildren,sex differences,gender,parental influence

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Pediatrics

Keywords: physical activity, sport preferences, schoolchildren, sex differences, gender, parental influence

Physical activity practice and sports preferences in a group of Spanish schoolchildren depending on sex and parental care: a gender perspective

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Estudio del peso al nacer

Most cited references 44

Canadian sedentary behaviour guidelines for children and youth.

Why Are Girls Less Physically Active than Boys? Findings from the LOOK Longitudinal Study

Sedentary behaviour and adiposity in youth: a systematic review of reviews and analysis of causality

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