Weekday and weekend sedentary time and physical activity in differentially active children
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Objectives To investigate whether weekday-weekend differences in sedentary time and specific intensities of physical activity exist among children categorised by physical activity levels.Design Cross-sectional observational study.Methods Seven-day accelerometer data were obtained from 810 English children (n=420 girls) aged 10-11 years. Daily average minday(-1) spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity were calculated for each child. Sex-specific moderate to vigorous physical activity quartile cut-off values categorised boys and girls separately into four graded groups representing the least (Q1) through to the most active (Q4) children. Sex- and activity quartile-specific multilevel linear regression analyses analysed differences in sedentary time, light physical activity, moderate physical activity, vigorous physical activity, and moderate to vigorous physical activity between weekdays and weekends.Results On weekdays Q2 boys spent longer in light physical activity (p<0.05), Q1 (p<0.001), Q2 boys (p<0.01) did significantly more moderate physical activity, and Q1-Q3 boys accumulated significantly more vigorous physical activity and moderate to vigorous physical activity than at weekends. There were no significant differences in weekday and weekend sedentary time or physical activity for Q4 boys. On weekdays Q2 and Q3 girls accumulated more sedentary time (p<0.05), Q1 and Q2 girls did significantly more moderate physical activity (p<0.05), and Q1-Q3 girls engaged in more vigorous physical activity (p<0.05) and more moderate to vigorous physical activity (p<0.01) than at weekends. Q4 girls' sedentary time and physical activity varied little between weekdays and weekends.Conclusions The most active children maintained their sedentary time and physical activity levels at weekends, while among less active peers weekend sedentary time and physical activity at all intensities was lower. Low active children may benefit most from weekend intervention strategies.
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Children typically engage in lower levels of physical activity and more sedentary time on weekend days as compared to school days.
“As a result of these policies, children typically engage in lower levels of PA and more sedentary time on weekend days as compared to school days [18, 19].”
From Early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity and sedentary behavior in children living in the U.S. (2020) · cites this paper as [19]
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References 31 · Cited by 89
- Authors
- Fairclough, S. J., Boddy, L. M., Mackintosh, K. A., Valencia-Peris, A., & Ramirez-Rico, E.
- Affiliations
- Liverpool John Moores University (GB)
- Swansea University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Fairclough, Stuart J.
- Venue
- Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-07
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 444-449
- ISSN
- 1440-2440 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2117580860
- Cited by
- 89
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 3.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
- Locations
- Journal of science and medicine in sport (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Edge Hill University Research Information Repository (Edge Hill University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Edge Hill University (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Liverpool John Moores University
- Wigan Council
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Sports and Physical Education Studies
- Keywords
- sedentary time, physical activity, weekday and weekend differences, children, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, light physical activity, physical activity intensity, sex differences
- MeSH terms
- Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Physical Exertion, Female, Humans, Male, Motor Activity, Sex Factors, Time Factors, Sedentary Behavior, Accelerometry
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