School-aged children’s healthy lifestyle and physical activity survey with correlation analysis

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Researcher A.V. Malinin1
Researcher D.N. Pukhov1
Dr. Biol., Department Head T.F. Abramova2
PhD, Leading Researcher T.V. Dolmatova 2
1Saint-Petersburg Physical Culture Research Institute, Saint-Petersburg
2Federal Science Center for Physical Culture and Sport, Moscow

Corresponding author: dpuhov@spbniifk.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to survey and analyze the school-aged children’s lifestyles, diets, oral hygiene and physical activity.

Methods and structure of the study Saint-Petersburg Physical Culture Research Institute (SPPCRI) contributes to the international Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) program and formally leads this project in the Russian Federation. The participating countries are expected to contribute to the ongoing international research under the HBSC program by anonymous surveys of the 11/ 13/ 15 year-old school population run once in four years. The SPPCRI team has developed a special web service with an authorized access for the regional groups with a Russian version of the international questionnaire survey. The web service offers an accessible online survey form with the reported data stored in database, grouped, processed and analyzed. This study presents and analyzes the survey data of 2017-18.

The WHO offers the MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity) survey toolkit to rate group physical activity levels versus the minimal physical activity benchmarks, with the recommended minimal daily physical activity for school-aged children making one hour. The actual physical activity reported by school-aged children was rated versus the WHO minimum by the question how many days per week the children are physically active for at least 60 minutes a day.

We sampled for the questionnaire survey the 11/ 13/ 15 year-old schoolchildren (n=4765) of both sexes. The sample was split up into two groups based on the reported physically active days per week with the physical activity equal or exceeding the MVPA minimum of 60 minutes a day. The MVPA3 and MVPA7 groups included the students reporting physically active for the 60+min 3 days and 7 days a week, respectively. This grouping assumed that MVPA3 basically means three school physical education classes a week; and MVPA7 complements the school physical education classes with extra/ off-class sports/ physical activity forms.

We analyzed intergroup differences in the reported dieting habits, oral hygiene and healthy physical activity on age and gender bases.

Results and conclusion. The survey data and analyses found high contributions to the health culture of school-aged children from such healthy lifestyle elements as the healthy diets, good physical activity and commitment for physical education and sports in every age and gender subgroup. This finding may be interpreted as indicative of the school sample acknowledging the key healthy lifestyle elements due to, apparently, the role models provided by their families showing healthy living habits and cultures. We recommend further surveys to analyze the potential contribution of school teachers and peers in the healthy lifestyle cultivation in the age and gender groups.

Keywords: school-aged children, level of physical activity, diets, oral hygiene, physical activity, healthy lifestyle.

Background. One of the key goals for the physical activation efforts is to offer new ways to lure school-aged children into habitual physical education and sports [5, 6]. The national government and society give a special priority to the physical education and sport services to school-aged children, and the national physical education and sport system for the age group is persistently advanced with a special priority to the group health programs on the whole and healthy lifestyle cultivation in particular [1, 2].

Objective of the study was to survey and analyze the school-aged children’s lifestyles, diets, oral hygiene and physical activity.

Methods and structure of the study Saint-Petersburg Physical Culture Research Institute (SPPCRI) contributes to the international Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) program [5] and formally leads this project in the Russian Federation. The participating countries are expected to contribute to the ongoing international research under the HBSC program by anonymous surveys of the 11/ 13/ 15 years old school population run once in four years. The SPPCRI team has developed a special web service with an authorized access for the regional groups with a Russian version of the international questionnaire survey. The web service offers an accessible online survey form with the reported data stored in database, grouped, processed and analyzed [3]. This study presents and analyzes the survey data of 2017-18.

The World Health Organization (WHO) offers the MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity) survey toolkit to rate group physical activity levels versus the minimal physical activity benchmarks, with the recommended minimal daily physical activity for school-aged children making one hour [3]. The actual physical activity reported by school-aged children was rated versus the WHO minimum by the question how many days per week the children are physically active for at least 60 minutes a day.

We sampled for the questionnaire survey the 11/ 13/ 15 year-old schoolchildren (n=4765) of both sexes. The sample was split up into two groups based on the reported physically active days per week with the physical activity equal or exceeding the MVPA minimum of 60 minutes a day. The MVPA3 and MVPA7 groups included the students reporting physically active for the 60+min 3 days and 7 days a week, respectively. This grouping assumed that MVPA3 basically means three school physical education classes a week; and MVPA7 complements the school physical education classes with extra/ off-class sports/ physical activity forms.

We analyzed intergroup differences in the reported dieting habits (with a special attention to fruits and vegetables), oral hygiene and healthy physical activity on age and gender bases.

Results and discussion. Given on Figure are the age and gender shares reporting 1+ fruit meal every day in MVPA3 and MVPA7 groups, and found a clear domination of MVPA7 group on the fruit consumption scale.

Figure 1. Age and gender shares reporting 1+ fruit meals every day in MVPA3 and MVPA7 groups

The MVPA3 versus MVPA7 difference on the fruit consumption scale for 11-year-old boys was 18% versus 45% and peer girls 19.3% versus 44.6%; for the 13-year-old boys 14.4% versus 37.1% and peer girls 14.4% versus 42.7%; and for the 15-year-old boys 13.3% versus 29.6% and peer girls 14.9% versus 35.9%, respectively; with all the above age and gender intergroup differences tested significant (p <0.05).

Furthermore, we rated the age and gender shares reporting 1+ vegetable meal every day in MVPA3 and MVPA7 groups, and found a clear domination of MVPA7 group on this scale. The MVPA3 versus MVPA7 difference on the vegetables consumption scale for 11-year-old boys was 12.5% versus 32.5% and peer girls 16.5% versus 34.5%; for the 13-year-old boys 15.1% versus 28.2% and peer girls 14.1% versus 34.7%; and for the 15-year-old boys 12.4% versus 31.8%, and peer girls 14.3% versus 35.9%, respectively; with all the above age and gender intergroup differences tested significant (p <0.05).

Then we analyzed the group oral hygiene for compliance with the health standards, and rated the age and gender shares reporting 1+ teeth brushing procedures every day in MVPA3 and MVPA7 groups, to find a clear domination of MVPA7 group on this scale. The MVPA3 versus MVPA7 difference on the teeth brushing scale for 11-year-old boys was 46.9% versus 67.1% and peer girls 64.5% versus 74.3%; for the 13-year-old boys 34.8% versus 60.2% and peer girls 64.7% versus 68%; and for the 15-year-old boys 35.5% versus 53.6%, and peer girls 66% versus 69.6%, respectively; with all the above age and gender intergroup differences tested significant (p <0.05).

And we also analyzed the group shares committed for daily physical education and sports practices in MVPA3 and MVPA7 groups, and found a clear domination of MVPA7 group on this scale. The MVPA3 versus MVPA7 difference on the physical education and sports commitment scale for 11-year-old boys was 58.4% versus 82.5% and peer girls 56.6% versus 84.3%; for the 13-year-old boys 46.8% versus 79%, and peer girls 51.2% versus 68.5%; and for the 15-year-old boys 50.3% versus 76.2%, and peer girls 51.5% versus 76.5%, respectively; with all the above age and gender intergroup differences tested significant (p <0.05).

Conclusion. The survey data and analyses found high contributions to the health culture of school-aged children from such healthy lifestyle elements as the healthy diets, good physical activity and commitment for physical education and sports in every age and gender subgroup. This finding may be interpreted as indicative of the school sample acknowledging the key healthy lifestyle elements due to, apparently, the role models provided by their families showing healthy living habits and cultures. We recommend further surveys to analyze the potential contribution of school teachers and peers in the healthy lifestyle cultivation in the age and gender groups.

References

  1. Focus on adolescent health and well-being. Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2017/2018 results. in Europe and Canada. International report. V. 1. Main results. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2020. 59 p.
  2. Focus on adolescent health and well-being. Findings from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) Survey 2017/2018. in Europe and Canada. International report. V. 2. Basic data. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2020.139 p.
  3. WHO Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health [Electronic resource] Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/44399/3/9789244599976_rus.pdf (Date of access: 12.01.2021).
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