Children´s physical activity levels measured by accelerometer: all day physical activity vs physical education classes

Jesús Martínez Martínez, Onofre Ricardo Contreras Jordán, Ángela Lera Navarro, Susana Aznar Laín

Abstract

Physical inactivity during the early years of life is currently indicated as a major contributor to increased levels of obesity and other serious medical conditions and is being seen in children and adolescents all across Europe. children spend a large part of their time at school. the new school curriculum provides good opportunities to promote physical activity.

The present study aims to measure children’s all day physical activity objectively and identify the amount of physical activity that takes place during physical education classes. the study comprised a sample of 32 Spanish children ages 11-12 from a school in toledo, spain. an accelerometer was used to measure physical activity. most of the children did not achieve the physical activity health guidelines (i.e., a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (mvpa). physical education classes provided a considerable amount of mvpa and played an important role in relation to the total amount of mvpa that took place during the week.

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Copyright (c) 2012 Jesús Martínez Martínez, Onofre Ricardo Contreras Jordán, Ángela Lera Navarro, Susana Aznar Laín