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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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SEASONAL DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SEDENTARY PATTERNS: THE RELEVANCE OF THE PA CONTEXT |
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Pedro Silva1  ,
Rute, Santos1, Gregory Welk2 and Jorge Mota1 |
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1CIAFEL (Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure), Faculty of Sports, University of Porto, Porto Portugal, 2Kinesiology Department, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2011) 10, 66 - 72 |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| The aim of this pilot study was to characterize seasonal variation
in the moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior
of Portuguese school youth, and understand the influence of activity choices
and settings. The participants in this study were 24 students, aged 10-13
years. Accelerometers measured daily PA over 7 consecutive days, in different
seasons May - June and January - February. In summer, boys accumulated more
minutes in MVPA (928 minutes/week) than girls (793 minutes/week). In winter
the pattern was reversed with girls accumulating more activity than boys
(736 minutes/week vs. 598 minutes/week). The repeated measures ANOVA revealed
significant effects for season (F = 5.98, p = 0.023) and in- school vs.
out-of-school (F = 6.53, p = 0.018). Youth were more active in the summer
and activity levels were higher after school than in school. Summer season
provided relevant contexts for youth physical activity accumulation. Winter
season may have been a significant barrier to boy's preferred PA context.
Differences in choices of outdoor or indoor PA, after school, explained
the gender differences in seasonal activity patterns. Key words: Season, accelerometer, physical activity context. |
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