Effects of Installing Height-Adjustable Standing Desks on Daily and Domain-Specific Duration of Standing, Sitting, and Stepping in 3rd Grade Primary School Children

Sprengeler O, Hebestreit A, Gohres H, Bucksch J, Buck C. Effects of Installing Height-Adjustable Standing Desks on Daily and Domain-Specific Duration of Standing, Sitting, and Stepping in 3rd Grade Primary School Children. Frontiers in Public Health. 2020;8: 396.Background: Aim of this intervention study was to evaluate whether availability of standing desks in classrooms may reduce sitting time and enhance standing and stepping time during lessons and breaks. Further, we evaluated if differences in standing desk use differed by physical fitness (PF) levels of children. Methods: To assess sitting, standing and stepping during a typical school week in 3rd grade primary school children (N = 52), activPAL monitors were used at baseline: T0, 1st follow-up: T1 and 2nd follow-up: T2. At baseline, PF was measured using the standing long jump and the 6-min jog-walk to assign children as having low PF (LPF) or high PF (HPF). Standing desks were assigned randomly to intervention and control groups at T1 (group 1) and T2 (group 2) with a cross-over design. Changes of sitting, standing and stepping were analyzed to investigate intervention effects at follow-up, using linear mixed models. Results: At baseline, children spent about 60 and 30% of time sitting during lessons and breaks, respectively. After installing standing desks (T1), significantly lower proportions of sitting were observed in the intervention group 1 [-13.1%, 95%-CI: (-20.5; -5.72)] and the control group 2 [-9.78%, 95%-CI: (-17.3; -2.28)]. Compared to the baseline measurement (T0), lower proportions of sitting were particularly expressed during school breaks in group 1 and 2 after intervention in T1 [group 1: -10.3%, 95%-CI: (-16.4; -4.25)] or in T2 [group 2: -8.59%, 95%-CI: (-15.2; -1.94)]. In general, children with higher physical fitness were less sedentary and more active, but intervention effects did not differ by fitness levels. Conclusion: Standing desks provide an opportunity to reduce sedentary time during lessons and breaks at school in primary school children, but do not directly increase PA of high intensity such as stepping. Future studies should consider potential bandwagon effects caused by structural interventions. Copyright © 2020 Sprengeler, Hebestreit, Gohres, Bucksch and Buck

Messung der körperlichen Fitness in der NAKO Gesundheitsstudie: Methoden, Qualitätssicherung und erste deskriptive Ergebnisse

Die körperliche Fitness ist das Maß für die individuelle Fähigkeit, körperlich aktiv zu sein. Ihre wesentlichen Komponenten sind die kardiorespiratorische Fitness (Cardiorespiratory Fitness, CRF), die Muskelkraft und die Beweglichkeit. Neben der körperlichen Aktivität ist die körperliche Fitness ein wesentlicher Prädiktor für Morbidität und Mortalität. Ziel der Arbeit sind die Beschreibung der Erhebungsmethoden körperlicher Fitness in der NAKO Gesundheitsstudie und die Darstellung erster deskriptiver Ergebnisse. In der NAKO-Basiserhebung wurden die maximale Handgreifkraft (Grip Strength, GS) und die CRF als Komponenten der körperlichen Fitness über ein Handdynamometer bzw. über einen Fahrradergometertest mit submaximaler Belastung erhoben. Daraus wurde die maximale Sauerstoffaufnahme (VO2max) zur Beurteilung der CRF abgeleitet. Die Ergebnisse von insgesamt 99.068 GS-Messungen und 3094 Messungen der CRF beruhen auf einem Datensatz zur Halbzeit der Basiserhebung der NAKO (Alter 20–73 Jahre, 47 % Männer). Männer zeigten im Vergleich zu Frauen höhere Werte der körperlichen Fitness (Männer: GS = 47,8 kg, VO2max = 36,4 ml·min−1 · kg−1; Frauen: GS = 29,9 kg, VO2max = 32,3 ml·min−1 · kg−1). Ungefähr ab dem 50. Lebensjahr konnte ein Rückgang der GS verzeichnet werden, wohingegen die CRF ab der Altersgruppe 20–29 Jahre bis zu den ≥60-Jährigen kontinuierlich abfiel. Die GS und die VO2max zeigten nach Korrektur für das Körpergewicht einen linear positiven Zusammenhang (Männer β = 0,21; Frauen β = 0,35). Die Analysen zeigten eine gute Übereinstimmung der Verteilung der körperlichen Fitness in der NAKO im Vergleich zu anderen bevölkerungsbasierten Studien. Zukünftige Auswertungen werden insbesondere die unabhängige Bedeutung der GS und CRF bei der Prädiktion von Morbidität und Mortalität beleuchten.Physical fitness is defined as an individual’s ability to be physically active. The main components are cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscle strength, and flexibility. Regardless of physical activity level, physical fitness is an important determinant of morbidity and mortality. The aim of the current study was to describe the physical fitness assessment methodology in the German National Cohort (NAKO) and to present initial descriptive results in a subsample of the cohort. In the NAKO, hand grip strength (GS) and CRF as physical fitness components were assessed at baseline using a hand dynamometer and a submaximal bicycle ergometer test, respectively. Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) was estimated as a result of the bicycle ergometer test. The results of a total of 99,068 GS measurements and 3094 CRF measurements are based on a data set at halftime of the NAKO baseline survey (age 20–73 years, 47% men). Males showed higher values of physical fitness compared to women (males: GS = 47.8 kg, VO2max = 36.4 ml·min−1 · kg−1; females: GS = 29.9 kg, VO2max = 32.3 ml · min−1 · kg−1). GS declined from the age of 50 onwards, whereas VO2max levels decreased continuously between the age groups of 20–29 and ≥60 years. GS and VO2max showed a linear positive association after adjustment for body weight (males β = 0.21; females β = 0.35). These results indicate that the physical fitness measured in the NAKO are comparable to other population-based studies. Future analyses in this study will focus on examining the independent relations of GS and CRF with risk of morbidity and mortality

Variations in accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time across Europe – harmonized analyses of 47,497 children and adolescents

Funder: Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100005401Funder: ZonMw; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001826Funder: The Research Council of Norway, Division for Society and Health.Abstract: Background: Levels of physical activity and variation in physical activity and sedentary time by place and person in European children and adolescents are largely unknown. The objective of the study was to assess the variations in objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time in children and adolescents across Europe. Methods: Six databases were systematically searched to identify pan-European and national data sets on physical activity and sedentary time assessed by the same accelerometer in children (2 to 9.9 years) and adolescents (≥10 to 18 years). We harmonized individual-level data by reprocessing hip-worn raw accelerometer data files from 30 different studies conducted between 1997 and 2014, representing 47,497 individuals (2–18 years) from 18 different European countries. Results: Overall, a maximum of 29% (95% CI: 25, 33) of children and 29% (95% CI: 25, 32) of adolescents were categorized as sufficiently physically active. We observed substantial country- and region-specific differences in physical activity and sedentary time, with lower physical activity levels and prevalence estimates in Southern European countries. Boys were more active and less sedentary in all age-categories. The onset of age-related lowering or leveling-off of physical activity and increase in sedentary time seems to become apparent at around 6 to 7 years of age. Conclusions: Two third of European children and adolescents are not sufficiently active. Our findings suggest substantial gender-, country- and region-specific differences in physical activity. These results should encourage policymakers, governments, and local and national stakeholders to take action to facilitate an increase in the physical activity levels of young people across Europe

Erfassung von körperlicher Aktivität und deren Zusammenhänge mit Übergewicht im Kindes- und Jugendalter

Körperliche Aktivität hat sich mittlerweile als ein Schlüsselfaktor für die Gesundheit im Kindes- und Jugendalter sowie als zentraler Aspekt des Gesundheitsverhaltens etabliert. Trotz des hohen Stellenwertes von körperlicher Aktivität für die Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention – institutionalisiert durch international anerkannte Bewegungsempfehlungen (mindestens 60 Minuten moderate bis intensive körperliche Aktivität pro Tag) – mangelt es nach wie vor an ausreichender Evidenz für präventive Zusammenhänge zwischen körperlicher Aktivität und Übergewicht. Zudem bewegt sich der Großteil aller Kinder und Jugendlichen nicht ausreichend, also entsprechend der Bewegungsempfehlungen. Um im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit einen Beitrag zum o.g. Forschungsgegenstand zu leisten, wurden auf der Datenbasis eines pan-europäischen sowie zweier nationaler Projekten vier Artikel mit unterschiedlichen Schwerpunkten verfasst. Die Ziele der Artikel lagen darin, die longitudinalen Zusammenhänge von körperlicher Aktivität und Gewichtstatus näher zu beleuchten und das Bewegungsverhalten im Tagesverlauf von Schulkindern detailliert zu untersuchen, sodass erfolgversprechende Ansätze für Bewegungsförderung identifiziert werden können. Das übergeordnete Ziel der Arbeit, Ansätze für Bewegungsförderung und Prävention von Übergewicht im Kindes- und Jugendalter zu identifizieren, ergibt sich aus der Synergie der ätiologischen und methodischen Fragestellungen der verschiedenen Studien. Einerseits bestärken die gewonnenen Erkenntnisse die notwendige und flächendeckende Förderung von moderater bis intensiver körperlicher Aktivität und sprechen dafür, dass die regelmäßige Teilnahme am Schul- und Vereinssport geeignete Strategien sind, Schulkinder bei der Erreichung des Ziels ausreichender Bewegung zu unterstützen. Andererseits verdeutlichen die Erkenntnisse, dass Akzelerometer als objektive Erfassungsmethode zwar die beste Wahl sind, um Bewegungsverhalten im Kindes- und Jugendalter zu messen, doch dass auch diese Methode gewisse Limitationen aufweist, die bestenfalls durch ergänzende subjektive Methoden wie Bewegungstagebücher kompensiert werden sollten

Sports Contribute to Total Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity in School Children

INTRODUCTION: A third of all children spend at least 60 min·d in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as recommended by the World Health Organization. We investigated the distribution of objectively measured physical activity (PA) intensities achieved by schoolchildren during physical education (PE) and organized youth sports (OYS) and the contribution of PE and OYS to the achievement of the PA recommendations. METHODS: In two surveys, PA of 396 children was measured using accelerometry during typical school weeks. Proportions (%) of sedentary behavior, light PA, and MVPA per day and particularly during sports were assessed in children 6-17 yr old. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) were calculated to analyze the association between frequency (d·wk) and duration (min·wk) of PE and OYS and meeting the PA recommendations. RESULTS: Average proportions of MVPA during PE and OYS ranged between 15% and 31%. Between 68% and 74% of children (6-10 yr) and between 27% and 37% of adolescents (11-17 yr) met the PA recommendations. In both age-groups, PE and OYS on at least 2 d·wk were both significantly associated with meeting the PA recommendations (AOR for PE = 3.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.05-6.31; AOR for OYS = 3.83, 95% CI = 2.09-6.99), compared with no PE or no OYS in that week. Likewise, significant AOR values were found for >90 min of PE per week (AOR = 3.48, 95% CI = 2.03-5.98) and >120 min of OYS per week (AOR = 3.72, 95% CI = 2.01-6.89), compared with no PE or no OYS in that week, respectively. CONCLUSION: Schoolchildren spent less than one-third of PE and OYS in MVPA. PE and OYS were found to support children and adolescents to engage sufficiently in MVPA as recommended by the World Health Organization

Domain-Specific Self-Reported and Objectively Measured Physical Activity in Children

Little is known about the extent that different domains contribute to total sedentary (SED), light (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). We aimed to identify domain-specific physical activity (PA) patterns in school-aged children who were assessed by questionnaire and accelerometry. For the study, 298 German school children and adolescents aged 6–17 years wore an accelerometer for one week and completed a PA recall-questionnaire for the same period. Spearman coefficients (r) were used to evaluate the agreement between self-reported and objectively measured PA in five domains (transport, school hours, physical education, leisure-time, organized sports activities). School hours mainly contributed to the total objectively measured SED, LPA and MVPA (55%, 53% and 46%, respectively), whilst sports activities contributed only 24% to total MVPA. Compared to accelerometry, the proportion of self-reported LPA and MVPA during school hours was substantially underestimated but overestimated during leisure-time. The agreement of self-reported and objectively measured PA was low for total LPA (r = 0.09, 95% CI (confidence interval): −0.03–0.20) and total MVPA (r = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.10–0.32), while moderate agreement was only found for total SED (r = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.34–0.53), LPA during transport (r = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.49–0.67) and MVPA during organized sports activities (r = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.38–0.67). Since school hours mainly contribute to total SED, LPA and MVPA and self-reported LPA and MVPA during school were importantly underestimated compared to objectively measured LPA and MVPA, the application of objective measurements is compulsory to characterize the entire activity pattern of school-aged children

Trajectories of objectively measured physical activity and childhood overweight : longitudinal analysis of the IDEFICS/I.Family cohort

Background: Since only few longitudinal studies with appropriate study designs investigated the relationship between objectively measured physical activity (PA) and overweight, the degree PA can prevent excess weight gain in children, remains unclear. Moreover, evidence is limited on how childhood overweight determines PA during childhood. Therefore, we analyzed longitudinal trajectories of objectively measured PA and their bi-directional association with weight trajectories of children at 2- and 6-year follow-ups. Methods: Longitudinal data of three subsequent measurements from the IDEFICS/I.Family cohort study were used to analyze the bi-directional association between moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and weight status by means of multilevel regression models. Analyses comprised 3393 (2-year follow-up) and 1899 (6-year follow-up) children aged 2–15.9 years from eight European countries with valid accelerometer data and body mass index (BMI) measurements. For categorized analyses, children’s weight status was categorized as normal weight or overweight (cutoff: 90th percentile of BMI) and children’s PA as (in-) sufficiently active (cutoffs: 30, 45 and 60 min of MVPA per day). Results: Children engaging in at least 60 min MVPA daily at baseline and follow-ups had a lower odds of becoming overweight (odds ratio [OR] at 2-year follow-up: 0.546, 95% CI: 0.378, 0.789 and 6-year follow-up: 0.393, 95% CI: 0.242, 0.638), compared to less active children. Similar associations were found for 45 min MVPA daily. On the other side, children who became overweight had the lowest odds to achieve 45 or 60 min MVPA daily (ORs: 0.459 to 0.634), compared to normal weight children. Conclusions: Bi-directional associations between MVPA and weight status were observed. In summary, at least 60 min MVPA are still recommended for the prevention of childhood overweight. To prevent excess weight gain, 45 min MVPA per day also showed preventive effects. CC BY 4.0© The Author(s). 2021 Open Access This 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.Correspondence: [email protected]</p

Assessing physical behavior through accelerometry – State of the science, best practices and future directions

Accelerometers offer opportunities for researchers to capture validdata about the intensity and amount of physical behavior (PB) in real-time over a period of several days and weeks. From this multi-dimensional data, a great number of metrics can be derived to captureand describe the unique aspects of PB. The goal of this paper is to helpthe end-user of PB monitoring devices (novice to intermediate experi-ence) wade through sometimes excessive technical details of accel-erometry to outline best practices in selecting and applying devices toquantify three major behavioral categories of common interest to theresearch community: physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB)and sleep. The effects of these decisions on the metrics (energy ex-penditure, activity intensity, body position, activity patterns) can occurin a variety of ways. The device, carrying position (hip, wrist, thigh)and recording parameters (epoch length (EL), frequency, memory ca-pacity, recording frequency andfilters) have a large influence on themeasured activity. The different backgrounds such as study design(purpose, repeated measurements) and duration (time frame, weartime) as well as data storage and evaluation must be taken into accountwhen determining the parameters. Finally, the evaluation must adjustseveral levers (raw data, context information, non-wear time, intensityclassification, compliance) depending on the target variables. Lookinginto the future, current developments in statistical analysis are dis-cussed, because the research community has not yet reached a con-sensus on the most promising approach. There are exciting develop-ments ahead of us in the future. Sleep in particular is increasingly beingseen as an influencing factor for health. Together with the technicaldevelopments in sensors which will become incrementally smaller,more accurate and in the near future will be integrated directly into ourclothes or skin, accelerometry is facing exciting times and lots of data toevaluate