The Use of Pedometry to Assess the Physical Activity of Hong Kong Secondary School Students during School Lunch Period

The intent of the researchers was to determine the physical activity level of the secondary school students during their lunch period in regular school days in Hong Kong. The physical activity for the following two distinct groups were studied: Mandatory Group - students who are not permitted to have lunch meal outside the school, and Free Group - students who are free to go away the school for a meal. Subjects' age ranged from 13 to 18 with a mean of 14.6. Pedometers were utilized to assess the physical activity in terms of the step counts recorded. The step counts for the free group were significantly (p < .05) larger than that of the mandatory group, indicating that more physical activity was achieved when the students were free to move outside the school during lunch time. In addition, boys were more active than girls in both groups. Recommendations for the promotion of students' habitual physical activity during lunch period were made.

本文作者旨在探討本港中學生於午膳間的身體活動量，利用輕便的步數記錄儀來比較兩組群之身體活動量分別：留在校內組及離開校園組。學童年齡由13至18歲不等，平均為14.6歲。結果顯示：留在校內組的身體活動量較離開校園組顯著少（P < .05)，引證出學童留在校內午膳時，缺乏足夠的身體活動。而且女生的活動量也較男生顯著減少，校內學生活動量下降的問題，值得體育工作者的關注。