Social support for youth physical activity: Importance of siblings, parents, friends and school support across a segmented school day

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Whilst evidence exists for the influence of encouragement on physical activity participation, the diversity of support sources and the type of physical activity examined previously is limited. This study examined the importance of perceived encouragement from parents, siblings/cousins, friends, and schools on participation levels across three time-specific activity opportunities that are available during a school day (after-school physical activities, lunchtime activity, and active transportation to and from school).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional sample of 12–18 year old high school students (n = 3,471) were recruited from low SES schools within South Auckland, New Zealand and categorised as either Junior (Years 9–11) or Senior (Years 12 & 13) students. Participants reported their physical activity levels and quantity of encouragement received from their parent(s), friend(s), sibling(s)/cousin(s), and school to be active. For each physical activity variable participants were dichotomized as being either "active" or "less active". For each social support source, participants were grouped into either receiving "high" or "low" levels of support. Binary logistic regression analyzes were conducted to calculate odd ratios and 95% confidence intervals.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Low parental support (Juniors, OR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.38–0.58; Seniors, OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.29–0.60) and low peer support (Juniors, OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.51–0.74; Seniors, OR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.35–0.69) were associated with reduced odds of being regularly active after school. For lunchtime activity, low peer support (Juniors, OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.32–0.48; Seniors, OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.29–0.57) was associated with reduced odds of being categorized as active. While no variables were significantly related to active transportation among senior students, low peer support was associated with reduced odds of actively commuting for Junior students (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.66–0.92). Irrespective of the activity examined, no significant difference was noted for students receiving high support from two parents than students reporting high support from their sole parent in a single parent family.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The importance of encouragement from parents, siblings, friends, and schools on physical activity is dependant on the time-specific activity examined. It is clear that proximal social networks need to be considered during the development of physical activity promotion strategies.</p

Effects of active video games on body composition: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Sedentary activities such as video gaming are independently associated with obesity. Active video games, in which players physically interact with images on screen, may help increase physical activity and improve body composition. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of active video games over a 6-mo period on weight, body composition, physical activity, and physical fitness. DESIGN: We conducted a 2-arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial in Auckland, New Zealand. A total of 322 overweight and obese children aged 10-14 y, who were current users of sedentary video games, were randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to receive either an active video game upgrade package (intervention, n = 160) or to have no change (control group, n = 162). The primary outcome was the change from baseline in body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)). Secondary outcomes were changes in percentage body fat, physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, video game play, and food snacking. RESULTS: At 24 wk, the treatment effect on BMI (-0.24; 95% CI: -0.44, -0.05; P = 0.02) favored the intervention group. The change (&plusmn;SE) in BMI from baseline increased in the control group (0.34 &plusmn; 0.08) but remained the same in the intervention group (0.09 &plusmn; 0.08). There was also evidence of a reduction in body fat in the intervention group (-0.83%; 95% CI: -1.54%, -0.12%; P = 0.02). The change in daily time spent playing active video games at 24 wk increased (10.03 min; 95% CI: 6.26, 13.81 min; P &lt; 0.0001) with the intervention accompanied by a reduction in the change in daily time spent playing nonactive video games (-9.39 min; 95% CI: -19.38, 0.59 min; P = 0.06). CONCLUSION: An active video game intervention has a small but definite effect on BMI and body composition in overweight and obese children

Feasibility, design and conduct of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to reduce overweight and obesity in children: The electronic games to aid motivation to exercise (eGAME) study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in developed countries. Sedentary screen-based activities such as video gaming are thought to displace active behaviors and are independently associated with obesity. Active video games, where players physically interact with images onscreen, may have utility as a novel intervention to increase physical activity and improve body composition in children. The aim of the Electronic Games to Aid Motivation to Exercise (eGAME) study is to determine the effects of an active video game intervention over 6 months on: body mass index (BMI), percent body fat, waist circumference, cardio-respiratory fitness, and physical activity levels in overweight children.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Three hundred and thirty participants aged 10–14 years will be randomized to receive either an active video game upgrade package or to a control group (no intervention).</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>An overview of the eGAME study is presented, providing an example of a large, pragmatic randomized controlled trial in a community setting. Reflection is offered on key issues encountered during the course of the study. In particular, investigation into the feasibility of the proposed intervention, as well as robust testing of proposed study procedures is a critical step prior to implementation of a large-scale trial.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12607000632493</p

Adolescent obesity and physical inactivity

Globally, obesity and physical inactivity are two health issues affecting young people. In New Zealand, the most current statistics indicate that 33.6% of 11 to 14 year olds, and 27% of 15 to 18 year olds, are considered overweight or obese.1,2 Despite these high prevalence levels, only 38% of young people aged 13 to 17 years in New Zealand are considered physically inactive.3 Future effort needs to be directed towards enhancing the existing national surveys to ensure a comprehensive and valid surveillance system of adolescent obesity and inactivity is conducted on a regular basis. This would involve the development of age, sex, and ethnic specific body mass index cut-off thresholds to define overweight and obesity, validation of an adolescent questionnaire that examines physical activity from a broad perspective, and development of physical activity recommendations for youth based on international best practice. Although the main focus of this paper is on obesity and physical inactivity, diet is also a key determinant of obesity. Therefore, to provide an accurate assessment of factors associated with youth obesity in New Zealand, surveillance of diet must occur concurrently with that of obesity and physical activity. The development of accurate measurement tools is critical for (1) determining obesity and inactivity trends, (2) identifying at-risk groups, (3) tracking progress toward national health priorities, and (4) evaluating the efficacy of interventions targeting obesity and physical inactivity. Furthermore, attention needs to be directed towards identifying correlates of inactivity and obesity to help inform the development of comprehensive multisectorial, multisetting, prevention, and management initiatives

Physical activity : what do high school students think?

Purpose: To explore the views high school students have about various physical activity contexts and their ideas of potential physical activity promoting strategies. Methods: Forty-four students from New Zealand high schools with a low decile rating participated in one of nine focus groups. All groups were separated by gender and ethnicity (Māori, New Zealand European). A standardized semi-structured schedule that included key questions and prompts was used. Thematic induction of the raw data was conducted using the long table approach. Results: Perceived benefits of physical activity participation centered on fun, achievement, and physical-related factors. Key barriers to physical activity engagement included lack of peer social support and low accessibility to, and availability of, physical activity opportunities. The structure of physical education (PE) classes was a barrier noted by females. Distance was consistently articulated as a barrier to commuting actively to school. Reflective of the barriers raised by participants, self-identified strategies to promote physical activity participation included environmental modifications such as (1) increasing social support from peers, (2) improving availability of, and accessibility to, activities at school and in their neighborhood, (3) providing organized activities at school, and (4) restructuring physical education classes. Conclusion: In line with the current understandings of barriers to physical activity participation, youth perceptions were focused toward environmental factors, both social and physical, thereby supporting further development of environment-focused interventions. The potential of the peer, school, neighborhood, and home strategies reported in our study need to be considered in future initiatives targeting youth physical activity

Pedometer-determined physical activity levels of adolescents : differences by age, sex, time of week, and transportation mode to school

Background: Few studies have examined high school students' physical activity habits using objective measures. The purpose of this study was to describe pedometer-determined habitual physical activity levels of youth. Methods: 236 high school students (age 12-18 years) wore sealed pedometers for 5 consecutive days. Data were analyzed using generalizing estimating equations. Results: Mean steps/d (± SE) differed significantly by sex (males, 10,849 ± 381; females, 9652 ± 289), age (junior students [years 9-1.1], 11,079 ± 330; senior students [years 12 and 13], 9422 ± 334), time of week (weekday, 12,259 ± 287; weekend day, 8241 ± 329), and mode of transportation to and from school (walkers, 13,308 ± 483; car transit users, 10,986 ± 435). Only 14.5% of students achieved at least 10,000 steps on every day during the monitoring period. Conclusion: Daily step counts differed substantially by age, sex, time of week, and transportation mode to school

Self-reported physical activity levels during a segmented school day in a large multiethnic sample of high school students

The school day provides youth several opportunistic time periods to be active. How active youth are during these time periods or whether they engage in physical activity across multiple time periods is not well established. A cross-sectional sample of 12-18-year-old students (n = 3471) were recruited from low socioeconomic status high schools within South Auckland, New Zealand. Participants reported their physical activity during lunchtime, morning recess, and after school, as well as their level of active transportation to and from school. For each physical activity opportunity participants were dichotomised as being either "more active" or "less active". Height, weight, and waist circumference measurements were also collected for each participant. Data were analysed using binary logistic regression to understand demographic associations and with kappa coefficient calculations to examine level of association in participation levels between different time periods. The percentage of students considered 'more active' depended on the physical activity variable of interest (after-school, 56.3%; active transportation, 58.1%; morning recess, 26.4%; lunchtime recess, 32.4%). Only 11.1% of participants were classified as 'more active' across all four physical activity opportunities. Substantial agreement (κ = .68) was only observed in participation levels at lunchtime and morning recess. At-risk groups for lower physical activity were female students, senior students, and students of Asian/Other descent. During a school day multiple opportunistic time periods exist for youth to be active, yet a large proportion of students are not as active as they could be with few youth engaging in physical activity across various segments of the school day

Associations between after-school physical activity, television use, and parental strategies in a sample of New Zealand adolescents

Background: Youth display suboptimal levels of physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Few studies have examined the existence of the “displacement hypothesis” or the effect of parental strategies on activity behaviors during the after-school period. Methods: A total of 3471 students (12–18 years old) completed a self-report survey that assessed after-school physical activity and television (TV) use and perceived parental strategies (ie, encouragement to be active, TV-viewing rules). Participants were grouped into 4 activity groups: high TV/low active, high TV/active, low TV/low active, or low TV/active. Descriptive statistics and nominal logistic-regression analyses were conducted. Results: Compared with students who watched less than 1 h of TV, participants who watched ≥4 h of TV were half as likely to be active after school (≥4 h; adjusted odds ratio 0.51, 95% CI .40–.65). Compared with the low TV/active group, the other activity groups were at least 1.28 times more likely to have parents that provided only 1 parental strategy (encouragement for activity or TV rules) and up to 4.7 times more likely to have parents that provided neither strategy. Discussion: Sedentary behaviors are associated with displacement of active pursuits. Parental strategies exert a strong influence on after-school behaviors of high school students