Global Matrix 3.0 Physical Activity Report Card Grades for Children and Youth:Results and Analysis From 49 Countries

BACKGROUND: Accumulating sufficient moderate to vigorous physical activity is recognized as a key determinant of physical, physiological, developmental, mental, cognitive, and social health among children and youth (aged 5-17 y). The Global Matrix 3.0 of Report Card grades on physical activity was developed to achieve a better understanding of the global variation in child and youth physical activity and associated supports. METHODS: Work groups from 49 countries followed harmonized procedures to develop their Report Cards by grading 10 common indicators using the best available data. The participating countries were divided into 3 categories using the United Nations' human development index (HDI) classification (low or medium, high, and very high HDI). RESULTS: A total of 490 grades, including 369 letter grades and 121 incomplete grades, were assigned by the 49 work groups. Overall, an average grade of "C-," "D+," and "C-" was obtained for the low and medium HDI countries, high HDI countries, and very high HDI countries, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides rich new evidence showing that the situation regarding the physical activity of children and youth is a concern worldwide. Strategic public investments to implement effective interventions to increase physical activity opportunities are needed.</p

ASSOCIATION OF TEACHER-LEVEL CHARACTERISTICS WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF CLASSROOM-BASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BREAKS

P. Abi Nader, K. Gunter FACSM Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR BACKGROUND: Classroom-based physical activity (PA) breaks are a common PA promotion strategy at elementary schools. Classroom-based PA breaks have been found to significantly increase child PA levels. To our knowledge there are no reports examining how teacher characteristics impact teacher implementation of classroom-based PA breaks. PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between specific teacher characteristics and teacher use of the Balanced Energy, Physical Activity Toolkit (BEPA-Toolkit), a classroom-based PA break intervention. METHODS: Six elementary schools in rural Oregon were randomized into control (n=3) or intervention (n=3) conditions. Teachers at intervention schools received a BEPA-Toolkit and training. Teachers at control schools received one BEPA-Toolkit per grade and no training. Eight months post BEPA-Toolkit distribution and trainings teachers were surveyed on their use of the BEPA-Toolkit, implementation self-efficacy and support, and value for PA. Logistic regression was used to associate teacher-level characteristics with BEPA-Toolkit use, adjusted for Toolkit access (none, classroom, grade) and training. RESULTS: Response rate was 94% (N= 83 teachers). Table 1 presents the averages of teacher-level characteristics that were used in the logistic regression model. Logistic regression revealed that attending a workshop and teacher implementation self-efficacy were associated with greater odds of using the BEPA-Toolkit (6.9 OR and 4.8 OR respectively, p Supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, under award number 2011-68001-30020

USING ACCELEROMETRY TO MEASURE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES DURING THE SCHOOL DAY IN RURAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Physical activity (PA) guidelines for children recommend accruing 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. Rural children accumulate the majority of their PA at school, so PA opportunities, such as physical education (PE), recess, and classroom-based PA (CBPA) in the rural school environment are critical for this population. There is limited research exploring these PA opportunities in the rural elementary school setting to understand which opportunities provide the most MVPA. PURPOSE: To determine the proportion of time rural children spend at different intensities during three specific PA opportunities available during the school day: PE, recess, and CBPA. METHODS: Objectively measured PA levels were collected over a period of four school days at six rural elementary schools using research-grade accelerometers. Accelerometers were worn on the waist during school hours by 292 children (grades 1-5). Daily wear times and school schedules were provided by teachers and were matched to the children’s accelerometer data to determine the amount of time spent at different intensities during each PA opportunity. ANOVA was used to detect differences with an alpha level of 0.05. RESULTS: The average duration for each PA opportunity was 44 minutes of recess, 32 minutes of PE, and 19 minutes of CBPA. Children in our sample of rural elementary schools spent 18 ± 14% (M±SD) of recess time in MVPA, 16 ± 15% of PE in MVPA, and 11% ± 15% of CBPA in MVPA. Boys engaged in higher levels of MVPA than girls across all PA opportunities (p\u3c0.001). First grade children accrued more time in MVPA across domains when compared to their fifth grade counterparts (p\u3c0.001). Sedentary and light intensity activities were higher for older children and girls (p\u3c0.001). CONCLUSION: Scheduling PA opportunities with the highest proportion of MVPA may be an effective method to increase activity in rural elementary school children. This sample of children are not meeting the recommendations of 50% for proportion of time spent in MVPA during recess and PE. Targeting approaches to increase MVPA during these already scheduled opportunities may help children reach daily recommendations. Supported by a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2011-68001-3002

Local Over-Expression of VEGF-D-Delta N Delta C in the Uterine Arteries of Pregnant Sheep Results in Long-Term Changes in Uterine Artery Contractility and Angiogenesis

The normal development of the uteroplacental circulation in pregnancy depends on angiogenic and vasodilatory factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Reduced uterine artery blood flow (UABF) is a common cause of fetal growth restriction; abnormalities in angiogenic factors are implicated. Previously we showed that adenovirus (Ad)-mediated VEGF-A165 expression in the pregnant sheep uterine artery (UtA) increased nitric oxide synthase (NOS) expression, altered vascular reactivity and increased UABF. VEGF-D is a VEGF family member that promotes angiogenesis and vasodilatation but, in contrast to VEGF-A, does not increase vascular permeability. Here we examined the effect of Ad.VEGF-DΔNΔC vector encoding a fully processed form of VEGF-D, on the uteroplacental circulation