read - Rice Lane Junior School

Physical Activity Correlates
of Liverpool Schoolchildren:
Research Findings &
Summary Report Rice Lane Junior School
Robert Noonan
Professor Stuart Fairclough
Dr Lynn Boddy
Dr Zoe Knowles
Physical Activity Exchange, Research Institute for
Sport and Exercise Sciences Liverpool John Moores
University
Contents
Background and Study Rationale ................................................................................................. 2
Purpose........................................................................................................................................ 2
Study Design................................................................................................................................ 3
A) Body Size ............................................................................................................................. 3
B) Fitness ................................................................................................................................. 3
C) Physical Activity ................................................................................................................... 4
D) Psychosocial Outcomes ....................................................................................................... 4
Study Results ............................................................................................................................... 6
Results by School ..................................................................................................................... 6
A) Body Size .......................................................................................................................... 7
B) Fitness ............................................................................................................................ 10
C) Physical Activity .............................................................................................................. 11
Results by Gender .................................................................................................................. 16
Physical Activity Influences ..................................................................................................... 17
Concluding Comments ............................................................................................................... 20
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 20
1
Background and Study Rationale
The promotion of physical activity and the adoption of healthy lifestyles are key aims of Every
Child Matters and the Liverpool Active City Be Active: Be Healthy, Creating a Moving Culture
Strategy. The benefits of physical activity and fitness are well established, including links between
cardiorespiratory fitness and risk factors for chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular
disease, metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes. As physical activity levels in childhood drive
lifestyle choices in adulthood, and active children tend to be active adults, the promotion of
physical activity is crucial in childhood. However, current research suggests that many UK
children do not achieve the recommended levels of daily physical activity to benefit their health
[60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity each day], but little is known about
why this is. Effective physical activity promotion strategies are based upon identifying children at
greatest risk of low physical activity behaviours and establishing modifiable factors that can be
targeted to increase physical activity participation. Few studies to date though have assessed a
broad range of potential factors simultaneously to examine their influence on children’s physical
activity levels and inform future physical activity promotion strategies.
Purpose
The aim of this study was to assess children’s physical activity levels and to see what key
modifiable factors influence children’s activity levels. It was envisaged that findings from the study
would present us with a better understanding of ways in which to increase children’s physical
activity in the future.
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Study Design
This project was a cross-sectional study focused on Year 5 children in Liverpool. All consenting
children in Year 5 completed a range of measures to assess aspects of body size, fitness, physical
activity, and psychosocial outcomes. These measures are described in detail below:
A) Body Size:
 Waist circumference: distance around the waist. A measuring tape is passed around the
smallest point of the waist and the circumference is read to the nearest 0.1cm.
 Body Mass Index (BMI): proxy measure of body size based on an individual's weight and
height [BMI=weight (kg)/height (m²)].
 IOTF Classification: The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) classification uses age
and gender specific BMI values to place children into the following categories: Normal
weight, Overweight, and Obese.
B) Fitness:
 20m Multi-stage shuttle run test (20m SRT): This test provides a measure of
cardiorespiratory fitness or aerobic endurance. Children complete a number 20m shuttle
runs keeping in time with ‘bleeps’ played out using a pre-recorded MP3 audio file. The time
between bleeps progressively decreases, increasing the intensity of the test. Children are
encouraged to run to exhaustion, and the number of completed shuttles are recorded for
each participant.
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C) Physical Activity:
 Self-reported physical activity: The children completed the Physical Activity
Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C). This questionnaire gathers information about
the children’s physical activity participation and preferences over the previous seven days.
 School travel mode: This questionnaire assesses the mode of travel children most
frequently use to travel to and from school. Active school travel included walking, cycling
or scooter to school. Passive school travel included all forms of motorised transport.
 Objective physical activity: Some children wore a physical activity monitoring device
during waking hours for seven consecutive days. This device assessed the amount of time
children spent sedentary and in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during the
seven day period.
D) Psychosocial Outcomes:
 Physical self-perceptions: The children completed a questionnaire assessing selected
domains of their physical self-perceptions. The element of the Physical Self-Perception
Profile reported was perceived sport competence.
 Physical activity self-efficacy: This questionnaire assesses the children’s feelings of
confidence to engage in physical activity.
 Physical activity enjoyment: This questionnaire assesses the children’s attitude towards
physical activity.
 Parent physical activity support: This questionnaire assesses the children’s perceptions
of the level of physical activity support they receive from their parents/carers.
 Parent physical activity: Parents completed the International Physical Activity
Questionnaire (IPAQ) short form. This questionnaire gathers information about parents’
physical activity participation.
4
 Peer physical activity support: This questionnaire assesses the children’s perceptions
of the level of physical activity support they receive from their peers/friends.
5
Study Results
Table 1. Sample Size
School
Boys
Girls
Total
A
10
14
24
B
26
21
47
C
10
8
18
D
9
6
15
E
6
5
11
F
1
6
7
Rice Lane
10
26
36
H
9
17
26
I
10
9
19
J
3
6
9
Total
94
118
212
Results by School
The following box plot diagrams present the results for each school that took part in the study.

Each box plot contains a top line representing the highest recorded value and a bottom
line representing the lowest recorded value.

The red horizontal line within the blue rectangular box is the median value for each
individual school.

Some box plots contain a circle above and/or below the top/bottom line and this represents
an unusually high/low value.
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A) Body Size
Figure 1. Waist Circumference by School
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A) Body Size
Figure 2. Body Mass Index by School
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A) Body Size
Figure 3. IOTF Weight Status Classification by School
The IOTF classification provides BMI child cut off values based on international data and linked to the widely accepted adult categories for overweight and
obesity. Children with BMI values >19.6 are classified as overweight and children with values > 23.4 are classified as obese. The data suggest that in most
schools children are of healthy weight.
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B) Fitness
Figure 4. 20m Shuttle Run Test by School
The low fitness cut-off value for children of this age is > 29 shuttles. The data suggest that in most schools the children on average exceed the
low fitness cut-off value.
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C) Physical Activity
Figure 5. PAQ-C Score by School
The low physical activity cut-off value for children of this age is ≥2.8. The data suggest that none of the schools have median values below the
low physical activity cut-off value.
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C) Physical Activity
Figure 6. School Travel Mode by School
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C) Physical Activity
Figure 7. Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity Levels by School
The Department of Health recommend that children of this age should engage in a minimum of 60 minutes MVPA each day. The data suggest
that in most schools the children on average did not achieve the recommended levels of daily physical activity to benefit their health.
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Physical Activity
Figure 8. Number of Children that Achieved MVPA Guideline Recommendations
by School
The data suggest that the majority of children did not achieve the recommended levels of daily physical activity to benefit their health.
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C) Physical Activity
Figure 9. Sedentary Time by School
The Department of Health recommend that children of this age should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended
periods. The data suggest that in all schools the children on average spent greater than 7 hours each day being sedentary.
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Results by Gender
Table 2. Descriptive Results by Gender
Boys (mean)
Girls (mean)
Age (years)
9.99
9.97
Stature (cm)
140.60
138.26
Body mass (kg)
35.68
34.72
Body mass index (m · kg¯²)
17.91
17.99
Overweight (%)
20.2 %
28.4 %
Waist circumference (cm)
64.67
63.68
Maturation (years)
-3.48
-1.92
20mSRT (shuttles)
47.86
29.60
Deprivation score
37.58
38.39
Physical activity enjoyment score
2.92
2.96
Physical activity self-efficacy score
3.70
3.88
Sport competence score
3.11
2.97
Parental support score
17.57
17.44
Peer support score
15.09
14.60
Physical activity score
3.57
3.33
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 Boys were older, heavier and taller than girls who were significantly closer to maturation
than boys. Boys had a slightly larger waist circumference than girls, but only 20.2% of boys
were classified as overweight compared to 28.4% of girls.
 Boys had significantly higher cardio-respiratory fitness levels than girls and reported
engaging in significantly more physical activity than girls.
 With regards to psychosocial outcomes boys and girls reported comparable levels of
physical activity enjoyment but boys reported slightly higher levels of parental and peer
physical activity support and significantly greater perceived sport competence compared
to girls.
Physical Activity Influences
Table 3. Physical Activity Influences by Gender
Significant influences
(Boys)
Significant influences
(Girls)
Perceived sport competence
Physical activity enjoyment
Parental support
Physical activity self-efficacy
Peer support
Parental support
Parent physical activity
Peer support
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The present study found two consistent influences associated with boys and girls physical activity,
namely, parent physical activity support and peer physical activity support. Parents play a key
role in shaping children’s health behaviours, particularly physical activity, through their ability to
act as role models and provide various sources of support. Parents can influence children’s
physical activity in a variety of ways including participating in physical activity with their children,
watching their children participate in physical activity, transporting their children to places to be
physically active as well as verbally praising and encouraging their children to lead more active
lifestyles. Children that do not receive much parental encouragement from their parents are far
more likely to face additional barriers to physical activity participation including lack of motivation,
low physical activity enjoyment, low self-efficacy and low perceived sport competence. All of these
were associated with physical activity in this study and are consistent with published child physical
activity correlates. Further research is needed to identify ways in which to encourage parent
support for PA and better understand the key barriers to family based PA participation.
Peer physical activity support has been positively associated with children’s physical activity in
various previous studies and the present study supports this strong evidence base. Peer physical
activity support includes factors such as co-participation with friends or verbal encouragement
and emotional support from friends to be physically active. Children often emulate their friends’
behaviours, and physically active children tend to influence the activity levels of their friends.
Research has shown that the presence of a large network of friends promotes greater involvement
in physical activity and facilitates PA among children, whereas, the effect of being alone or
experiencing fewer peer interactions is known to discourage children from participating in regular
physical activity. Friendship groups play a critical role in setting physical activity patterns in
children and children have reported higher physical activity enjoyment, motivation, and physical
activity participation in the presence of their friends. Encouraging children to spent greater time
with their friends rather than time alone, particularly indoors, may be a promising approach to
increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary time among children of this age.
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Children’s physical activity self-perceptions including self-efficacy and perceived sport
competence are also key influences on physical activity participation. Children with higher selfperceptions possess higher motivation to be physically active and approach physical activity
related tasks with a high expectancy of success, leading to greater perseverance and effort in
physical activity than children with low physical activity self-perceptions. Further, children that
possess high physical activity self-perceptions are more likely to participate in various forms of
physical activity that will refine and develop a broader range of physical skills. Through enhancing
various skills and competencies children typically enhance their physical self-perceptions and
participate in higher levels of physical activity. This reciprocal effect also applies to children’s
detachment from physical activity, because low physical activity self-perceptions will almost
certainly lead to physical activity avoidance and less opportunity to develop physical
competencies.
Children use various information sources to form their self-perceptions including self-comparison
and evaluative feedback from significant others, predominantly parents, but also friends. Through
positive interactions with friends and experiencing regular physical activity support in the form of
encouragement and praise from parents and peers, children’s physical activity self-perceptions
can be significantly improved. Children’s self-perceptions can also be improved through
developing motor skill proficiency. Targeting the development of these skills during childhood may
serve as a tool to improve future activity levels.
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Concluding Comments
On the basis of these study findings it is recommended that:
 Future intervention studies should be directed towards improving parents’ awareness of
their ability to influence children’s physical activity for the purpose of increasing parental
support and encouragement of physical activity.
 Physical education and extra-curricular provision should focus on physical activity
enjoyment and developing fundamental and sport-specific movement skills through
participation in authentic forms of physical activity to help boost children’s perceived sport
competence and attraction to physical activity.
 Schools work with local agencies to take greater responsibility for the promotion and
delivery of physical activity among children.
Acknowledgements:
The authors express their thanks to the teachers and pupils who took part in the study, and to the
undergraduate students who assisted with data collection.
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