Physical activity and dietary behaviour in a population-based sample of British 10-year old children: the SPEEDY study (Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young people)

van Sluijs, Esther M. F., Skidmore, Paula M. L., Mwanza, Kim, Jones, Andrew P., Callaghan, Alison M., Ekelund, Ulf, Harrison, Flo, Harvey, Ian, Panter, Jenna, Wareham, Nicholas J., Cassidy, Aedin and Griffin, Simon J. (2008) Physical activity and dietary behaviour in a population-based sample of British 10-year old children: the SPEEDY study (Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young people). BMC Public Health, 8. ISSN 1471-2458

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Abstract

Background The SPEEDY study was set up to quantify levels of physical activity (PA) and dietary habits and the association with potential correlates in 9–10 year old British school children. We present here the analyses of the PA, dietary and anthropometry data. Methods In a cross-sectional study of 2064 children (926 boys, 1138 girls) in Norfolk, England, we collected anthropometry data at school using standardised procedures. Body mass index (BMI) was used to define obesity status. PA was assessed with the Actigraph accelerometer over 7 days. A cut-off of = 2000 activity counts was used to define minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Dietary habits were assessed using the Health Behaviour in School Children food questionnaire. Weight status was defined using published international cut-offs (Cole, 2000). Differences between groups were assessed using independent t-tests for continuous data and chi-squared tests for categorical data. Results Valid PA data (>500 minutes per day on = 3 days) was available for 1888 children. Mean (± SD) activity counts per minute among boys and girls were 716.5 ± 220.2 and 635.6 ± 210.6, respectively (p < 0.001). Boys spent an average of 84.1 ± 25.9 minutes in MVPA per day compared to 66.1 ± 20.8 among girls (p < 0.001), with an average of 69.1% of children accumulating 60 minutes each day. The proportion of children classified as overweight and obese was 15.0% and 4.1% for boys and 19.3% and 6.6% for girls, respectively (p = 0.001). Daily consumption of at least one portion of fruit and of vegetables was 56.8% and 49.9% respectively, with higher daily consumption in girls than boys and in children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Conclusion Results indicate that almost 70% of children meet national PA guidelines, indicating that a prevention of decline, rather than increasing physical activity levels, might be an appropriate intervention target. Promotion of daily fruit and vegetable intake in this age group is also warranted, possibly focussing on children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Nutrition and Preventive Medicine
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Business and Local Government Data Research Centre (former - to 2023)
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Promotion
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023)
Depositing User: EPrints Services
Date Deposited: 25 Nov 2010 11:11
Last Modified: 24 Oct 2022 01:09
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/14088
DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-8-388

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