Moving forward by looking back: children’s physical activity across the ages

2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 817-818
Author(s):  
Mark S. Tremblay

Some cultural groups provide a glimpse at the past because they preserve or adhere to traditional behaviours and (or) living conditions. This brief introduction outlines a series of papers presented at the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Conference that used this model to explore changes in the physical activity behaviour of children over time.

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Hagger ◽  
Lorraine Cale ◽  
Len Almond

This study investigated the relationship between attitude towards physical activity and physical activity behaviour and the influence of gender and season on physical activity level in 45 primary school children, aged 9 to 11 years. Attitudes towards physical activity were assessed using two different theoretical approaches: the children's attitudes towards physical activity (CATPA) inventory and the theory of reasoned action (TRA) questionnaire. Physical activity behaviour was measured using Cale's (1994) self-report measure of physical activity. Approximately 50% of the children were categorised as 'inactive' based on cut-off points developed by Blair (1984). A 2 x 2 (gender x season) factorial analysis of variance showed that children partici pated in more moderate physical activity in the summer than in the winter (F(1,44) = 6.29, p<.05) but there were no gender differences in physical activity levels. Descriptive statistics for the CATPA inventory showed that children generally exhibited positive attitudes towards physical activity. Mann-Whitney U tests for two independent samples revealed significant differences between the high-active and low-active children for the catharsis, health and fitness, vertigo and aesthetic subdomains from the CATPA inventory (p<.05). None of the TRA variables showed any significant differences for activity level. Present results suggest that some attitude variables from the CATPA inventory differ according to children's physical activity levels and thereby emphasise the need for physical educators to foster positive attitudes towards physical activity in order to encourage children to adopt and maintain healthy and active lifestyles.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Mastropietro ◽  
Filippo Palumbo ◽  
Silvia Orte ◽  
Michele Girolami ◽  
Francesco Furfari ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The constant progression in number and share of the ageing population will likely have deep effects in most of the industrialized countries. The Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm can play a key role in facilitating independent living of the ageing population thus trying to reduce the burden on the society. Considering that ageing is a multi-factorial physiological process, the development of novel IoT systems, tools and devices, specifically targeted to older people, must be based on a holistic framework built on robust scientific knowledge in different scientific domains. OBJECTIVE A novel semantic formalization was developed, based on a multidomain healthy ageing model, to support structuring and standardizing heterogeneous scientific knowledge about ageing. The main aim of the paper is to present the new NESTORE ontology, with the purpose thus extending the available ontologies provided by universAAL-IoT (uAAL-IoT). METHODS Well-assessed scientific knowledge, specifically selected to target older adults aged between 65 and 75, was formalized into a holistic model using a multi-domain approach including three main different dimensions related to well-being: (i) Physiological Status and Physical Activity Behaviour, (ii) Nutrition, and (iii) Cognitive and Mental Status and Social Behaviour. Based on this model, within the NESTORE H2020 project, a new ontology was developed in the uAAL-IoT framework, which provides modelling tools and a set of core ontologies. RESULTS The NESTORE ontologies cover all the needed concepts to represent 5 significant domains of ageing. In total, 12 sub-ontologies were modelled with more than 60 classes and sub-classes referenced among them by using more than 100 relations and around 20 enumerations. NESTORE increases the uAAL ontologies collection by 40% and expand the uAAL domain usage for Physiological Status and Physical Activity Behaviour (8 ontologies), Nutrition (3 ontologies) and Cognitive and Mental Status and Social Behaviour (4 ontologies). CONCLUSIONS NESTORE ontology provides innovation both in terms of semantic content and technological approach. The thoroughly use of this ontology can support the development of a decision support system, to promote healthy ageing, with the capacity to do dynamic multi-scale modelling of user-specific data based on the semantic annotations of users’ profile.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026921552199797
Author(s):  
Jannike Salchow ◽  
Barbara Koch ◽  
Julia Mann ◽  
Julia von Grundherr ◽  
Simon Elmers ◽  
...  

Objective: To explore whether a structured counselling-based intervention increases vigorous physical activity behaviour of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. Design: Randomized controlled phase II trial. Setting: University Cancer Center Hamburg, Germany. Subjects: Eighty-nine participants (mean age 24.1 ± 6.3) were randomized to control ( n = 44) or intervention group ( n = 45). Interventions: The intervention group was consulted about physical activity behaviour via interview (week 0), and telephone counselling (weeks 1, 3 and 12). The control group only received general physical activity guidelines for cancer survivors (week 0). Main measures: The primary outcome was the rate of participants with ⩾9 metabolic equivalent (MET)-hours per week of vigorous activity post-intervention, measured with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes included assessing physical activity behaviour (e.g. amount and type of physical activity) and quality of life. Assessments were completed in weeks 0 (baseline), 12 (post-intervention) and 52 (follow-up). Results: Sixty-nine participants completed the post-intervention- and 47 the follow-up-assessment. The rate of participants performing vigorous physical activity increased from baseline to post-intervention for both without differing significantly ( P = 0.541). Both increased their total metabolic equivalent from baseline to post-intervention (intervention group from 55.2 ± 43.7 to 61.7 ± 29.4, control group from 75.3 ± 81.4 to 88.3 ± 80.2). At follow-up the intervention group (73.7 ± 80.2) was more active than baseline when compared to the control group (78.5 ± 50.0). Conclusions: A structured counselling-based physical activity intervention did not significantly impact the level of vigorous physical activity behaviour in adolescent and young adult cancer survivors.


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