Evidence for secular trends in children's physical activity behaviour
Open accessAbstract
It is not clear whether the global increase in weight problems in children is the result of excessive energy intake or decreasing energy expenditure. Methodological limitations have made it difficult to analyse. There is evidence that at least part of the problem may lie with increasing energy consumption, but it is important to examine the other side of the energy equation also. However, it is not possible to conclusively describe physical activity trends because of the absence of suitable baseline data. One solution is to summate all available evidence in as many areas of daily activities as possible and then draw tentative conclusions. This review summarises available trend data on direct representations of physical activity in a range of contexts, together with indirect measures such as sedentariness, fitness, and attitudes. The conclusions drawn are: physical activity in clearly defined contexts such as active transport, school physical education, and organised sports is declining in many countries; young people would like to be active but are often constrained by external factors such as school policy or curricula, parental rules in relation to safety and convenience, and physical environmental factors.
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Physical activity declines further in adolescents than in younger children, and only a small proportion meet recommended levels; surveys in Europe and North America indicate about 80% of 13-15 year olds do less than 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous exercise daily, with girls less active than boys.
“Physical activity declines further in adolescents compared with younger children and only a small proportion meet recommended levels, eg recent surveys in Europe and North America indicate that about 80% of 13-15 year-olds undertake moderate or vigorous exercise for less than 60 minutes per day, with girls being less active than boys [46][47][48][49] .”
From Type 2 diabetes in adolescents and young adults (2018) · cites this paper as [46]
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- Authors
- Dollman, J., Norton, K., & Norton, L.
- Affiliations
- University of South Australia (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Norton, K
- Norton, L
- Venue
- British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2005-11-23
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 892-897
- ISSN
- 0306-3674 (ISSN-L)
- 1473-0480
- PMC
- PMC1725088
- OpenAlex
- W2151305105
- Cited by
- 427
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 29 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 32 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 2.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- British Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Flinders Academic Commons (Flinders University) (submittedVersion)
- 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
- children's physical activity, secular trends, childhood obesity, energy expenditure, sedentary behavior, physical fitness, attitudes toward physical activity, active transport, physical education, organized sport, parental constraints, physical environment, energy intake
- MeSH terms
- Activities of Daily Living, Adolescent, Attitude to Health, Energy Intake, Child, Energy Metabolism, Female, Humans, Life Style, Male, Motor Activity, Physical Education and Training, Physical Fitness, Schools, Sports, Health Behavior, Exercise, Walking
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