Day Length and Weather Effects on Children's Physical Activity and Participation in Play, Sports, and Active Travel

被引:51
作者
Goodman, Anna [1 ]
Paskins, James [2 ]
Mackett, Roger [2 ]
机构
[1] London Sch Hyg & Trop Med, Fac Epidemiol & Populat Hlth, London WC1, England
[2] UCL, Ctr Transport Studies, London WC1E 6BT, England
基金
美国国家卫生研究院;
关键词
youth; seasonal variation; public health; daylight; SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR; SEASONAL-VARIATION; ADOLESCENTS; ETHNICITY; PATTERNS; YOUTH; AGE;
D O I
10.1123/jpah.9.8.1105
中图分类号
R1 [预防医学、卫生学];
学科分类号
1004 ; 120402 ;
摘要
Background: Children in primary school are more physically active in the spring/summer. Little is known about the relative contributions of day length and weather, however, or about the underlying behavioral mediators. Methods: 325 British children aged 8 to 11 wore accelerometers as an objective measure of physical activity, measured in terms of mean activity counts. Children simultaneously completed diaries in which we identified episodes of out-of-home play, structured sports, and active travel. Our main exposure measures were day length, temperature, rainfall, cloud cover, and wind speed. Results: Overall physical activity was higher on long days (>= 14 hours daylight), but there was no difference between short (< 9.5 hours) and medium days (10.2-12.6 hours). The effect of long clay length was largest between 5 PM and 8 PM, and persisted after adjusting for rainfall, cloud cover, and wind. Up to half this effect was explained by a greater duration and intensity of out-of-home play on long days; structured sports and active travel were less affected by day length. Conclusions: At least above a certain threshold, longer afternoon/evening daylight may have a causal role in increasing child physical activity. This strengthens the public health arguments for daylight saving measures such as those recently under consideration in Britain.
引用
收藏
页码:1105 / 1116
页数:12
相关论文
共 45 条
[1]  
[Anonymous], LEAST 5 WEEK PHYS AC
[2]  
[Anonymous], 1998, YOUNG ACTIVE YOUNG P
[3]   Critical Hours: Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior of Adolescents After School [J].
Atkin, Andrew J. ;
Gorely, Trish ;
Biddle, Stuart J. H. ;
Marshall, Simon J. ;
Cameron, Noel .
PEDIATRIC EXERCISE SCIENCE, 2008, 20 (04) :446-456
[4]   OBSERVATIONS ON PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY IN PHYSICAL LOCATIONS - AGE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, AND MONTH EFFECTS [J].
BARANOWSKI, T ;
THOMPSON, WO ;
DURANT, RH ;
BARANOWSKI, J ;
PUHL, J .
RESEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT, 1993, 64 (02) :127-133
[5]  
Beighle A, 2008, RES Q EXERCISE SPORT, V79, P256
[6]  
Bennett O., 2010, 1078 HOUS COMM LIB
[7]  
Butland B., 2007, FORESIGHT REPORT TAC
[8]   Seasonal Variation in Physical Activity Among Children and Adolescents: A Review [J].
Carson, Valerie ;
Spence, John C. .
PEDIATRIC EXERCISE SCIENCE, 2010, 22 (01) :81-92
[9]   A prospective examination of children's time spent outdoors, objectively measured physical activity and overweight [J].
Cleland, V. ;
Crawford, D. ;
Baur, L. A. ;
Hume, C. ;
Timperio, A. ;
Salmon, J. .
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBESITY, 2008, 32 (11) :1685-1693
[10]   Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey [J].
Cole, TJ ;
Bellizzi, MC ;
Flegal, KM ;
Dietz, WH .
BMJ-BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, 2000, 320 (7244) :1240-1243