TITLE:
Objective and Subjective Physical Activity Levels in Austrian Middle School Students
AUTHORS:
Carla Greier, Clemens Drenowatz, Herbert Riechelmann, Klaus Greier
KEYWORDS:
Adolescents, Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity, Sitting Time, Sedentary Behavior, Accelerometry, Physical Activity Questionnaire
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Physical Education,
Vol.11 No.4,
November
26,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: Insufficient physical activity is considered a major threat to future
public health as many children and adolescents do not engage in the recommended
amount of physical activity (PA), despite the well-documented health benefits.
The evaluation of ongoing efforts as well as future intervention strategies,
however, requires an accurate assessment of PA. Aim: The present study,
therefore, examined differences between objectively and subjectively determined PA in 36 Austrian
adolescents (52.8% male; 13.5 ± 0.5 years of age). Methods: Time spent
in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and time spent sedentary was assessed with a
wrist-worn accelerometer (GENEActive) that was worn for 7 consecutive days.
Self-reported sleep duration was subtracted from total sedentary time in
order to obtain sedentary time during waking hours. Participants also completed
the short version of the International PA questionnaire (IPAQ) at the end of
the objective measurement, which assesses
time spent in MVPA and sitting time during the previous week. Results: Objective and subjective data showed that adolescents spent the majority of
their time sitting or in sedentary pursuits. Self-reported MVPA was more
than double the amount of the objectively determined time spent in MVPA (p p Conclusions: These results highlight the
difficulty to accurately determine PA via questionnaire, which may be
attributed to irregular PA patterns in youth. Accordingly, subjective
measurements may need to be combined with objective methods in order to enhance
the accuracy of PA assessments. The low levels of objectively determined PA,
particularly in girls, further emphasize the need for continued efforts to
ensure an adequate amount of PA in youth.