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Cited by 485Physical Activity and HealthObesity, Physical Activity, DietSports and Physical Education Studies

Trends in physical activity and sedentary behaviour in adolescence: ethnic and socioeconomic differences

Open access
Brodersen, Naomi Henning, Steptoe, Andrew, Boniface, David R, Wardle, Jane·2007·British Journal of Sports Medicine
DOI 10.1136/bjsm.2006.031138PMC PMC2465219
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Abstract

Objective:To assess developmental trends in physical activity and sedentary behaviour in British adolescents in relation to sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). Design:A 5-year longitudinal study of a diverse cohort of students aged 11–12 years at baseline in 1999. Setting:36 London schools sampled using a stratified random sampling procedure. Participants:A total of 5863 students categorised as white, black or Asian, and stratified for SES using the Townsend Index. Main outcome measures:Number of days per week of vigorous activity leading to sweating and breathing hard. Hours of sedentary behaviour, including watching television and playing video games. Data were analysed using multilevel, linear, mixed models. Results:Marked reductions in physical activity and increases in sedentary behaviour were noticed between ages 11–12 and 15–16 years. Boys were more active than girls, and the decline in physical activity was greater in girls (46% reduction) than in boys (23%). Asian students were less active than whites, and this was also true of black girls but not boys. Black students were more sedentary than white students. Levels of sedentary behaviour were greater in respondents from lower SES. Most differences between ethnic and SES groups were present at age 11 years, and did not evolve over the teenage years. Conclusions:Physical activity declines and sedentary behaviour becomes more common during adolescence. Ethnic and SES differences are observed in physical activity and sedentary behaviour in British youth that anticipate adult variations in adiposity and cardiovascular disease risk. These are largely established by age 11–12 years, so reversing these patterns requires earlier intervention.

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Crossref · 10.1136/bjsm.2006.031138

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  • Males are reportedly more active than females at all ages from youth to adolescence.

    “Males are reportedly more active than females at all ages from youth to adolescence [18, 20, 58].”

    From Barriers to voluntary participation in sport for children: a systematic review (2018) · cites this paper as [18]

    The Physical activity trends over time section reports that boys consistently had more vigorous physical activity than girls at five time points, averaging 0.99 more days per week. The study followed students only from ages 11–12 to 15–16, so it does not establish the difference at all ages from youth to adolescence. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Evidence shows that girls are less physically active than boys regardless of age.

    “Evidence shows that girls are less physically active than boys regardless of age [18, 19, 58].”

    From Barriers to voluntary participation in sport for children: a systematic review (2018) · cites this paper as [18]

    The Physical activity trends over time section reports that boys consistently reported more physical activity than girls across five study time points. The study followed adolescents from ages 11–12 to 15–16, so it does not establish that this difference holds regardless of age outside that range. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • This may be particularly important for children and adolescents from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who typically engage in greater amounts of screen time and are also less likely to live in green neighbourhoods.

    “This may be particularly important for children and adolescents from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who typically engage in greater amounts of ST [48–51] and are also less likely to live in green neighbourhoods [52].”

    From Psychological impacts of “screen time” and “green time” for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review (2020) · cites this paper as [50]

  • Children from poorer backgrounds and those from single parent families are more likely to be affected by lack of time, high cost and location barriers.

    “Children from poorer backgrounds and those from single parent families are more likely to be affected by these barriers [18, 19, 42, 44, 45].”

    From Barriers to voluntary participation in sport for children: a systematic review (2018) · cites this paper as [18]

    The Socioeconomic factors and Discussion sections report differences in activity and sedentary behaviour by socioeconomic status, but do not assess whether poorer children face lack-of-time, cost, or location barriers. Searches for those barriers and for single-parent families found no passage addressing the claim; page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.77)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Physical activity typically declines and sedentary behavior increases as children get older.

    “Although PA typically declines and SB increases as children get older [33, 35–38]”

    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 [37]

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Authors
Brodersen, N. H., Steptoe, A., Boniface, D. R., & Wardle, J.
Affiliations
Cancer Research UK (GB)
Corresponding author
Wardle, Jane
ORCID
Venue
British Journal of Sports Medicine
Publisher
BMJ
Published
2006-12-18
Volume
41
Issue
3
Pages
140-144
ISSN
  • 0306-3674 (ISSN-L)
  • 1473-0480
DOI
10.1136/bjsm.2006.031138
PMC
PMC2465219
OpenAlex
W2170211395
Cited by
483
References
23
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 46 · 2014: 40 · 2013: 41 · 2012: 30
FWCI
9.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • British Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Cancer Research UK
  • British Heart Foundation
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
physical activity, sedentary behavior, adolescence, ethnic differences, socioeconomic status, sex differences, vigorous activity, television viewing, video games, Townsend index, longitudinal trends, transition to adolescence, cardiovascular risk
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Cardiovascular Diseases, Child, Ethnicity, Female, Humans, Life Style, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Cohort Studies, Health Behavior, Exercise, Body Mass Index

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