Gender and grade differences in objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns among Japanese children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study
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BACKGROUND: Physical activity levels in childhood have decreased, making the promotion of children's physical activity an important issue. The present study examined gender and grade differences in objectively measured sedentary behavior, physical activity, and physical activity guideline attainment among Japanese children and adolescents. METHODS: In total, 329 boys and 362 girls age 3-15 years completed the survey. School grade, gender, height, and weight were collected by questionnaires and physical activity objectively measured using an accelerometer (Lifecorder Suzuken Co.). Physical activity level (in MET) was classified as sedentary (<1.5), light (≥1.5 to <3), moderate (≥3 to <6), or vigorous (≥6). Continuous zero accelerometer counts for ≥20 min were censored and a valid accelerometry study required at least 3 days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend day) with > 600 min/day total wear time. Two-way analysis of covariance and logistic regression analyses, adjusted for weight status and accelerometer wear time, were used to examine gender and grade differences in physical activity variables and the likelihood of physical activity guideline attainment by gender and grade level. RESULTS: Participants were sedentary 441.4 (SD, 140.1) min/day or 53.7 % of the average daily accelerometer wear time of 811.2 (118.7) min, engaged in light physical activity 307.1 (70.0) min or 38.4 % of wear time, moderate physical activity 34.6 (14.8) min (4.3 %), vigorous physical activity 28.3 (19.1) min (3.6 %), and took 12462.6 (4452.5) steps/day. Boys were more physically active and took more steps/day than girls. Students in higher grades were less active than those in lower grades. Boys were significantly more likely to meet physical activity guidelines than girls (OR: 2.07, 95 % CI: 1.45-2.96). Preschoolers (6.66, 4.01-11.06), lower-grade elementary school students (17.11, 8.80-33.27), and higher-grade elementary school students (7.49, 4.71-11.92) were more likely to meet guidelines than junior high school students. CONCLUSIONS: Boys and lower-grade students engaged in more physical activity and were more likely to attain guidelines than girls and higher-grade students. These findings highlight the need for effective and sustainable strategies to promote physical activity in Japanese school children.
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Some studies indicate that most children spend a large proportion of their awake time being active at low levels of intensity, especially girls.
“some studies indicate that most children spend a large proportion of their awake time being active at low levels of intensity [39–41], especially girls [40].”
From Proportion of children meeting recommendations for 24-hour movement guidelines and associations with adiposity in a 12-country study (2016) · cites this paper as [40]
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“Although there is no clear consensus about how to define light-intensity activities by accelerometry [37, 38], some studies indicate that most children spend a large proportion of their awake time being active at low levels of intensity [39–41], especially girls [40].”
Background
- Authors
- Ishii, K., Shibata, A., Adachi, M., Nonoue, K., & Oka, K.
- Affiliations
- Waseda University (JP)
- University of Tsukuba (JP)
- Okayama University (JP)
- Kani City Sunan Junior High School (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Ishii, Kaori
- Venue
- BMC Public Health
- Published
- 2015-12
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1254-1254
- ISSN
- 1471-2458 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4683705
- OpenAlex
- W2197910073
- Cited by
- 125
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 6.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- BMC Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (22700680)
- Waseda University Grant for Special Research Projects (2010A-095, 2011A-092)
- Global COE Program “Sport Sciences for the Promotion of Active Life” from the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
- MEXT-Supported Program for the Strategic Research Foundation at Private Universities
- 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, children, adolescents, gender differences, school grades, physical activity guidelines, step count, accelerometer-measured activity, Japanese children, preschool children, elementary school students, junior high school students, physical inactivity prevention, school-based physical activity promotion, weight status, sex differences in physical activity
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Age Factors, Body Weight, Body Weights and Measures, Child, Child, Preschool, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Japan, Male, Sex Factors, Exercise, Sedentary Behavior, Accelerometry
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