Physical activity level and sedentary time in Norwegian adolescents
Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: Physical activity (PA) is necessary for children and adolescents to\nobtain a healthy development. The environment, however, facilitates the sedentary\nlifestyle. World health organization (WHO) defines physical inactivity as the\nfourth major risk factor for mortality. Still, adolescents in Europe and America are\nsedentary more than 50 % of their waking hours. Lack of comparability between\nstudies investigating PA level and sedentary time in adolescents creates need for\nfurther documentation. Objective: The objective was to investigate PA level and\nsedentary time in Norwegian 15-year olds. In addition, I wanted to study whether\nsedentary time and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were associated with waist\ncircumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI). Method: Data was drawn from\nthe cross-sectional part of the PANCS2 (2011). A total of 1046 15-year-old boys\nand girls were included to represent the Norwegian adolescent population. PA and\nsedentary time were assessed objectively by ActiGraph accelerometers.\nMeasurements of BMI (in kg/m2) and WC were taken by trained investigators.\nThe International Obesity Task Force cut-offs were used to define overweight and\nobese subjects. Analyzes conducted were independent and dependent t-test, Chisquare\ntest, Pearson’s correlation, univariat, and multivariate regression. Results:\nThe adolescents had a mean (SD) PA level of 456 (160) counts per minute. The\nmean PA level was higher during the week compared to the weekend. The\nrecommendations of 60 minutes of MVPA were reached by 50.7 %. Boys were\nsignificantly more active than girls. The participants spent 71 % of the measured\ntime being sedentary, and girls were more sedentary than boys. Sedentary time\nwas not associated with either WC or BMI, while MVPA was associated with\nboth variables. Conclusion: The adolescent’s PA level is not favorable, and the\n2\namount of time spent sedentary is concerning. There is a difference in PA level\nbetween week and weekend, and between the sexes. Sedentary time was not\nassociated with WC or BMI, while MVPA was associated with both variables.
Author: Jorunn Sundgot‐Borgen
Language: English
Topic: Physical Activity and Health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2467552758