Research article
Adolescent Patterns of Physical Activity: Differences by Gender, Day, and Time of Day

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2005.02.007Get rights and content

Background

More information about the physical activity of adolescents is needed. This study used objective measurement to investigate differences in activity patterns related to gender, body mass index (BMI), day, and time of day.

Methods

Eighth-grade adolescents (37 boys, 44 girls) wore the Manufacturing Technologies Inc. (MTI) accelerometer for 4 days and kept a previous-day physical activity recall diary in the fall of 2002. Minutes per hour in sedentary, light, and moderate/vigorous activity, as recorded by the MTI, and in nine activity categories, as recorded by the diary, were calculated for three time periods (6:00 am to 2:59 pm, 3:00 pm to 6:59 pm, 7:00 pm to midnight) on each day (Thursday through Sunday).

Results

Doubly multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant gender by day by time differences in sedentary (p =0.005) and moderate/vigorous (p <0.001) activity, but no significant BMI interactions. Except on Sunday, boys were less sedentary and more active than girls during the late afternoon period. Significant gender by category (p <0.001) and day by category (p <0.001) interactions were also found in the log data. Boys spent more time engaged in TV/electronics and sports, while girls spent more time in personal care. Three activity categories (sports, social interaction, active transportation) stayed at consistent levels across days, while others varied widely by day of the week.

Conclusions

Except on Sunday, consistent gender differences were found in activity levels, especially for the late afternoon period. Significant increases in sitting, TV/electronic games, and chores were seen for weekend days. Results support strategies to reduce sitting and electronic recreation, which may increase physical activity.

Introduction

Little is known about temporal changes in adolescent physical activity, as well as specific types of activity or gender differences that may exist in these patterns.1, 2 Middle-school boys have been found to be more active than girls during physical education,3 and to engage in more vigorous activity,4 but other findings have been mixed.5, 6 Although lower levels of objectively measured physical activity have been observed in adolescents during weekend versus weekdays in both genders,7 more precise information is needed on the duration, intensity, and types of activities that may help explain possible gender differences, as well as the possible role of adiposity. As adult activity patterns have been shown to vary by day,8 establishing whether similar differences are present among adolescents could aid the design of future interventions. The purpose of this study was to use accelerometry and self-report diaries to evaluate gender or body mass index (BMI) differences in physical activity levels and patterns, by day and time of day, among eighth-grade adolescents.

Section snippets

Participants

One hundred adolescents (53 girls, 47 boys), which allowed comparison with previous studies,9 were recruited from the eighth grade of an ethnically diverse middle school in Texas in fall 2002. Complete data for the 81 participants (described below) are presented. The Baylor College of Medicine Institutional Review Board approved this study, and written informed parental consent was obtained for all participants.

Measures and Procedure

Height was measured without shoes to the nearest 0.1 cm twice using a stadiometer

Results

Eighteen subjects were excluded due to problematic MTI data, and one subject was excluded due to problematic PDPAR data. Data for the remaining 81 subjects are reported. Of these subjects, the MTI was worn an average 86.1% (standard deviation [SD]=6.7) of the day between 6:00 am and midnight.

Fifty-four percent of the sample was female, with a mean age of 13.3 (SD=0.5) years. The sample was ethnically diverse with 44% Anglo-American, 26% Hispanic, 6% African-American, and 17% other ethnic

Discussion

The current study examined gender differences in intensity and specific type of activity by day of the week and time of day. Accelerometer results revealed that boys were less sedentary than girls, especially during the late afternoon period of the day on Thursday and Saturday, and had higher levels of moderate/vigorous activity during the late afternoon period on every day except Sunday. Boys were also less sedentary than girls on Saturday evenings, and showed higher levels of

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    No financial conflict of interest was reported by the authors of this paper.

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