Investigation of physical activity levels of male students during school time: does participation in regular sport activities affect on physical activity levels of students?

Abstract

Physical activity (PA) is an important factor to promote and maintain a healthy lifestyle along the whole life cycle. However, it is not clear whether it is due to the PA itself or sports team participation for elementary school students. Purpose of the study; to make comparison between the PA levels of students attending regular sport activities (Sa) and students not attending regular sports activities (Sb) during school days. The study included 30 male public elementary school students (Sa:9.57 +/- 0.78 and Sb:9.15 +/- 0.38 years old) PA data were obtained by using both objective and subjective measurement methods. Two objective methods (accelerometer-RT3; Heart Rate Monitor, Polar 610i,) were simultaneously used during the 3 school days except for physical education (PE) class. PA Questionnaire (r=.93) was applied one week before the objective measurements. Descriptive data were calculated for all variables. BMI was computed as kg/m(2). Independent t test was used for comparing the variables of two groups. There were significant differences between two groups in terms of heart rate and vector magnitude (VM=root x(2)+y(2)+z(2)). However, there was no significant difference by means of BMI between two groups (p<.05). The Sb group showed higher PA level on school days compared with the Sa group when PE class and regular sport activities are disregarded. That means, children may satisfy daily PA needs during these activities. On the other hand, the amount of PA accumulating during school time seemed inadequate to achieve the current recommendations for health-promotion in all children. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Huseyin Uzunboylu