Report Card grades on the physical activity of children and youth comparing 30 very high Human Development Index countries

Salomé Aubert, Joel D. Barnes, Nicolas Aguilar-Farias, Greet Cardon, Chen Kang Chang, Christine Delisle Nyström, Yolanda Demetriou, Lowri Edwards, Arunas Emeljanovas, Aleš Gába, Wendy Y J Huang, Izzeldin A.E. Ibrahim, Jaak Jürimäe, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Agata Korcz, Yeon Soo Kim, Eun Young Lee, Marie Löf, Tom Loney, Shawnda A. MorrisonJorge Mota, John J. Reilly, Blanca Roman-Viñas, Natasha Schranz, John Scriven, Jan Seghers, Thomas Skovgaard, Melody Smith, Martyn Standage, Gregor Starc, Gareth Stratton, Tim Takken, Tuija Tammelin, Chiaki Tanaka, David Thivel, Richard Tyler, Alun Williams, Stephen H.S. Wong, Paweł Zembura, Mark S. Tremblay*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    72 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: To better understand the childhood physical inactivity crisis, Report Cards on physical activity of children and youth were prepared concurrently in 30 very high Human Development Index countries. The aim of this article was to present, describe, and compare the findings from these Report Cards. Methods: The Report Cards were developed using a harmonized process for data gathering, assessing, and assigning grades to 10 common physical activity indicators. Descriptive statistics were calculated after converting letter grades to interval variables, and correlational analyses between the 10 common indicators were performed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Results: A matrix of 300 grades was obtained with substantial variations within and between countries. Low grades were observed for behavioral indicators, and higher grades were observed for sources of influence indicators, indicating a disconnect between supports and desired behaviors. Conclusion: This analysis summarizes the level and context of the physical activity of children and youth among very high Human Development Index countries, and provides additional evidence that the situation regarding physical activity in children and youth is very concerning. Unless a major shift to a more active lifestyle happens soon, a high rate of noncommunicable diseases can be anticipated when this generation of children reaches adulthood.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)S298-S314
    Number of pages17
    JournalJournal of Physical Activity and Health
    Volume15
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2018

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Children physical activity
    • Global matrix
    • International comparison
    • Sedentary behavior

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