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Aim The main objectives of this systematic review were to evaluate the effects of interventions on leisure-time PA of boys and girls and to appraise the extent to which studies have taken sex/gender into account. Subject and methods PRISMA guidelines were followed. Two researchers independently screened studies for eligibility and assessed the risk of bias. Descriptive analyses were conducted to evaluate intervention effects in relation to the consideration of sex/gender in the studies based on a newly developed checklist. Additionally, meta-analyses were performed to determine the effect of interventions on girls’ and boys’ leisure-time PA. Results Overall 31 unique studies reported 44 outcomes on leisure-time PA and 20,088 participants were included in the current study. Consideration of sex/gender aspects in studies is low. PA outcomes with statistically significant same/similar effects in boys and girls showed higher quality of reporting sex/gender aspects of theoretical and/or conceptual linkages with sex/gender, measurement instruments, intervention delivery, location and interventionists and participant flow than PA outcomes without significant effects in both boys and girls or effects only in boys or girls. Interventions had a small but significant effect on girls (number of included studies (k) = 9, g = 0.220, p = .003) and boys (k = 7, g = 0.193, p = .020) leisure-time PA. Conclusion Higher reporting of sex/gender aspects may improve leisure-time PA of boys and girls. Nevertheless, there remains a need to address sufficient consideration of sex/gender aspects in interventions in the context of PA.

Physical inactivity is an increasing problem worldwide, but especially among girls. This difference by gender increases with age. Schools serve virtually all young people in most parts of the world and can thus play an important role in promoting physical activity. In this systematic review, we qualitatively and comprehensively assessed the treatment of sex/gender considerations (from study design to discussion of results) in 56 school-based intervention studies aiming to promote physical activity in children and adolescents. In all 56 studies, the factor of sex/gender was only rudimentarily considered, regardless of the effectiveness of the intervention. The meta-analysis revealed that the interventions had significant but relatively small effects with both girls and boys, along with high heterogeneity. To obtain better information about effective strategies that promote physical activity for both girls and boys equally, researchers conducting future intervention studies should pay attention to sex/gender differences and report on how they take this factor into account.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund und Ziel der Arbeit Eine Analyse bewegungsförderlicher Verhältnisse in der Wohnumwelt ist für die Planung der kommunalen Bewegungsförderung für ältere Menschen unerlässlich. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht, welche Instrumente zur Messung baulicher und natürlicher Umweltdeterminanten, wie der Nutzung von Bewegungsmöglichkeiten (z. B. Grünflächen), zur Verfügung stehen und inwiefern sie auf die Zielgruppe Älterer durch kommunale Praktikerinnen und Praktiker der Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung anwendbar sind. Material und Methoden Im Rahmen einer selektiven Übersichtsarbeit wurden mittels systematischer Literaturrecherche in einschlägigen Datenbanken und Webseiten Instrumente zur Erfassung der kommunalen Bewegungsverhältnisse älterer Menschen anhand von vorab definierten Ein- und Ausschusskriterien identifiziert (z. B. Zielgruppe, Erfassung der Umwelt). Diese Tools wurden in einem nächsten Schritt anhand weiterer Kriterien, wie z. B. der Verfügbarkeit im deutschen Sprachraum, der Praktikabilität für die Kommune und der Testgüte, weiter unterteilt. Ergebnisse Insgesamt konnten 118 Tools identifiziert werden, welche sich den Kategorien Fragebögen, Audits und Bürgerbeteiligungsverfahren zuordnen lassen. Von diesen wurden 12 Instrumente als „vielversprechend“ eingestuft, die den Kriterien in besonderem Maße entsprachen. Schlussfolgerung Erhebungsinstrumente zur Messung zielgruppenspezifischer Aspekte der Bewegungsumwelt sind weitestgehend unbekannt und liegen nur in der Ausnahme für den deutschsprachigen Raum getestet vor. Zukünftige Studien sollten methodisch reliable und valide Messinstrumente einsetzen und diese für kommunale Praktikerinnen und Praktiker der Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung praktikabel gestalten.

Background: Physical inactivity is often reported in youth and differs among boys and girls. The aim of this study is to assess sex/gender considerations in intervention studies promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior in youth using a sex/gender checklist. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in August 2018 to identify all relevant controlled trials. Studies screened must have reported a quantified measure of physical activity and/or sedentary behavior, and identified participants by sex/gender at baseline. For evaluation of the sex/gender consideration, the authors used a sex/gender checklist developed by expert consensus. Results: The authors reviewed sex/gender considerations in all aspects of intervention development, implementation, and evaluation in 217 studies. Sex/gender aspects were only rudimentarily taken into account, most frequently during statistical analyses, such as stratification or interaction analysis. Conclusions: Sex/gender effects are not sufficiently reported. To develop guidelines that are more inclusive of all girls and boys, future interventions need to document sex/gender differences and similarities, and explore whether sex/gender influences different phases of intervention programs. The newly developed sex/gender checklist can hereby be used as a tool and guidance to adequately consider sex/gender in the several steps of intervention planning, implementation, and evaluation.

This study was supported by a research Grant from the Czech Science Foundation under Reg. No. 17-12579S and a governmental project under Reg. No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_025/0007294. Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine secular trends in vigorous physical activity (VPA) among adolescents in relation to family affluence across 34 countries. Methods: This study used data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study from 34 countries in Europe and North America. Adolescents (N = 501,647) aged 11, 13 and 15 years across three survey cycles (2006, 2010, 2014) self-reported data on VPA and a family affluence scale (FAS) using standardized questionnaires. Results: A significant increase in VPA was found in low-FAS boys (girls) in four (10) countries and a decrease in four (three) countries. In high-FAS boys (girls), a significant increase was observed in nine (11) countries and a decrease in two(three) countries. An overall significant increase in meeting the VPA recommendations was found in high-FAS boys (OR 1.11; 95% CI 1.06–1.16) and in all FAS groups in girls, with the largest effect being found among high-FAS girls (OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.18–1.30). Conclusions: A country-specific increase in VPA was observed primarily in the medium- and high-FAS categories. This study suggests a need to focus on increasing VPA efforts, especially in low- and medium-FAS boys. Publisher PDF

It is widely proven that being physically active and avoiding sedentary behaviour help to improve adolescents&rsquo, well-being and keep them in better health in general. We aimed to investigate the relationship between modes of transport to school and subjective complaints among schoolchildren. Analyses were based on the HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) surveys conducted in 2017/18 in nine countries (N = 55,607, mean age 13.43 &plusmn, 1.64 yrs.). The main outcome showed that health complaints consisted of somatic and psychological complaints. Transport to school was characterized by mode of getting there (walking, biking, or another passive mode). A total of 46.1% of students walked and 7.3% cycled to school, 46.6% commuted by passive means. Biking to school was more frequent in Denmark (37.9%), Norway (26.5%), and Germany (26.6%). The multivariate generalized linear model adjusted for age, gender, country, and school proximity showed that biking to school is protective against reports of health complaints. The beta parameters were equal to &minus, 0.498 (p &lt, 0.001) for the general HBSC-SCL index, &minus, 0.208 (p &lt, 0.001) for the somatic complaint index, and &minus, 0.285 (p &lt, 0.001) for the psychological complaints index. Young people who actively commute to school are less likely to report health complaints, especially psychological symptoms.

This systematic review aims to evaluate the extent of sex/gender consideration and effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce sedentary behaviour (SB). We searched for randomised or non-randomised controlled trials with the outcome SB and a sex/gender analysis in eleven electronic databases. Sixty-seven studies were included. Sex/gender considerations were qualitatively rated. Sex/gender was reported separately in 44.8% of studies, 14.9% of studies conducted a sex/gender interaction analysis, and 19.4% enrolled either girls or boys. SB was significantly reduced for girls in 16.4%, for boys in 11.9% and for both in 13.4%. No sex/gender intervention effect was found in 38.8%. According to the qualitative rating, studies without significant sex/gender effects reached “detailed” rating twice as often as studies finding a significant intervention effect for either girls or boys, or both. Overall, no clear pattern according to the qualitative rating and in terms of intervention effectiveness can be drawn. The results reveal a lack of sufficient sex/gender information in intervention planning and delivery. Further research should consider analysing sex/gender intervention effects as well as consider sex/gender inclusive intervention planning and delivery.

The study was supported from European Regional Development Fund-Project “Effective Use of Social Research Studies for Practice” (No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_025/0007294) and the Czech Science Foundation under reg. No. 18-24977S. Objectives: Associations between the perceived social and physical environment and self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and screen time (ST) were examined among adolescents in four European countries. Methods: Representative samples were surveyed with standardised methodologies. Associations between environmental variables and meeting MVPA recommendations and tertiles of ST were tested in gender-specific logistic regression models. Moderation by country and country-specific relationships were also examined. Results: The most consistent findings across countries were found for the significant associations between neighbourhood social environment and MVPA in both boys and girls. Significant associations with the physical environment varied more between countries and by gender. The most consistent negative associations with ST were found for the social environmental variable of having parental rules for spending time outside the home. Conclusions: The present findings provided evidence for the generalisability of the associations between environmental correlates and MVPA across four European countries. The findings show clear differences in correlates for MVPA and ST. Further research is needed to better understand the unique aspects of the social and physical environment which explain each of the two behaviours. Postprint

Zusammenfassung In den bayerischen Gesundheitsregionenplus werden lokale Akteure der Gesundheitsförderung und -versorgung sowohl untereinander als auch mit angrenzenden Kommunalressorts und Politikfeldern vernetzt, um Maßnahmen in unterschiedlichen Settings zu koordinieren und integrierte kommunale Gesundheitsstrategien zu entwickeln. In der bewegungsfreundlichen Kommunalentwicklung kommt dieser ressortübergreifenden Kooperation eine Schlüsselrolle zu.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Sitzendes Verhalten wird zunehmend als ein eigenständiger gesundheitlicher Risikofaktor eingeschätzt. Ein wesentliches Handlungsfeld für Interventionen zur Reduzierung sitzenden Verhaltens stellt deshalb der Büroarbeitsplatz dar. Dieses systematische Review untersucht, ob sitz- und/oder bewegungsspezifische Interventionen die Sitzzeiten von Büroangestellten am Arbeitsplatz reduzieren. Methoden Von April bis Mai 2016 wurde in den Datenbanken „PubMed“, „PsycINFO“ und „SPORTDiscus“ eine systematische Literaturrecherche durchgeführt. Insgesamt ließen sich 17 Studien identifizieren, welche die Sitzzeiten von Büroangestellten untersuchten. Die relevanten Studien wurden in einer „Best Evidence Synthesis“ zusammengefasst. Zusätzlich wurde eine Moderatoranalyse (u. a. Interventionsmethoden) durchgeführt. Ergebnisse Multikomponenten-Interventionen und Sitz-Steh-Arbeitsstationen sind vielversprechend zur Reduzierung der Sitzzeiten von Büroangestellten. In der Moderatoranalyse fiel der Anteil signifikant positiver Interventionsergebnisse für die Interventionsmethoden „Umweltveränderungen“, „Hinzufügen von Objekten zur Umgebung“ und „Anleitungen, um ein Verhalten auszuführen“ am höchsten aus. Interventionen mit spezifischem Fokus auf das Sitzen sowie Studien mit objektiver Messmethodik zur Erhebung der Sitzzeit zeigten sich erfolgversprechender. Schlussfolgerung Es existieren verschiedene erfolgversprechende Interventionen zur Reduzierung der Sitzzeiten am Büroarbeitsplatz. Hier sind Mehrkomponenten-Interventionen und die Installation von Sitz-Steh-Arbeitsstationen hervorzuheben. Wenig Evidenz liegt für die Langzeitwirkung vor. Die Heterogenität der Studien schränkt zudem allgemeingültige Wirksamkeitsaussagen ein. Zukünftige Studien sollten Interventionen stärker theoriebasiert planen und die Sitzzeiten mithilfe subjektiver und objektiver Messinstrumente erfassen.

Background: Previous studies indicate that the level of physical activity (PA) significantly affects children's health. Active transport to school is PA on a daily basis that may contribute substantially to the overall volume of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Aim of our study was to explore whether schools' health promotion and PA-related policies are associated with active commuting in 15-years-old girls and boys actively commuting to and from school and whether gender differences on active commuting exist.Methods: Students in 9th grades (N = 1522; mean age 15 years; 47.7% boys) from the Czech Republic were enrolled. The active transport of adolescents was self-reported within the Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey in the year 2010. Data about school polices were obtained from the school-level questionnaire which was responded to by school principals. Associations between active transport and school health or PA policies were calculated by logistic regression.Results: We found that adolescents actively commuted more often (OR/95%-CI: 3.43/L87-6.27 [girls]; 2,87/1.46-5.642 [boys]) in schools which promote students' walking and cycling to or from school. Adolescents from schools that are planning an implementation of health promotion reported even higher levels of use of active transport (OR/95%-CI: 5.32/2.38-11.92 [girls]; 4.54/2.01-10.24 [boys]). The association was stronger in boys compared to girls.Conclusion: School policies and programs promoting active transport to and from schools in the Czech Republic contribute to the use of active transport and should be widely implemented. Gender-sensitive approaches should also be taken into account.

Background: The increasing prevalence of childhood obesity is a global concern. Although childhood obesity has grown as a result of a complex array of interactions among multiple behavioural, biological, and environmental factors, excessive screen time (ST) and low levels of physical activity (PA) are often discussed as causal factors. Therefore, it is beneficial to identify risky family behavioural patterns contributing to the increasing prevalence of obesity even in pre-schoolers. Objective: The main aim of the study was to assess whether parental obesity and parent-child behavioural patterns (PA and ST) affect the odds of overweight/obesity in 4-to-7-year-old preschool children. Methods: We analysed seven-day PA and ST behaviour among families with pre-schoolers that included 194 preschool children (88 girls and 106 boys) and their parents (165 mothers and 111 fathers). PA was monitored by means of unsealed Yamax pedometers for at least eight hours a day over seven consecutive days during spring (April/May) and autumn (September/October) of 2015. ST was recorded by parents on family log book sheets. To assess the odds of parents' obesity and PA/ST variables in relation to child overweight/obesity, a logistic regression (backward method) was used. Results: Most children (n = 157) reported normal weight (87 boys, 70 girls), 37 children were overweight or obese (19 boys, 18 girls). Children's excessive ST (> 1 hour/day) (OR: 5.65/33.19 on weekdays/weekends), mothers' obesity (OR: 13.80/28.84 on weekdays/weekends), mothers' excessive ST (> 2 hours/ day) (OR: 32.46 at weekends), and children's male gender (OR: 38.69 at weekends) were significantly (p < .05) associated with higher odds of overweight/obesity in the preschool children. Conclusions: Uncovering parent-child behavioural patterns provides insight into the lifestyle of families with pre-schoolers and is a source of valuable information for designing and implementing family-based intervention programmes aimed at reducing obesity. Especially, weekends provide a suitable space for the implementation of joint family programmes aimed at reducing sedentary behaviour.

Objectives: To develop a road map towards a harmonized pan-European surveillance system for children and adolescents. Methods: Representatives of five European surveillance systems and the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents contributed to the road map through a structured workshop in 2016. Results: A conceptual framework for this road map was developed with seven action points (APs) guiding the successive cross-country harmonization. First, key indicators of health behaviour and their determinants in children and adolescents will be identified (AP1, 2); short screening instruments will be developed and implemented to assess and monitor key indicators (AP3, 4). In parallel, optional supplementary modules could be implemented to provide objective data (AP5). This would allow mutual calibration and improvement of existing instruments before their progressive replacement by more comparable measurement tools (AP6). The establishment of a competence platform is envisaged for guiding the harmonization process (AP7). Conclusions: This approach builds on existing systems, provides comparable key health indicators across European regions, helps to assess temporal trends and—once in place—will facilitate health reporting and monitoring of national and international health targets.

This study assessed the associations between these factors in a random sample of Czech families with preschool and school-aged children. A nationally representative sample comprised 185 families with preschool children and 649 families with school-aged children (dyads; both parents and child n = 365, mother and child n = 730, and father and child n = 469). The participants wore Yamax Digiwalker SW-200 pedometers at least four weekdays and both weekend days and completed family logbooks (anthropometric parameters, daily step counts (SC), and screen time (ST)). When a parent (fathers at weekends and mothers both on weekdays and at weekends) achieved 10,000 SC per day, their children were also significantly (OR = 2.93-6.06, 95% CI = 2.02-9.26) more likely to meet the daily SC recommendation. On the contrary, the involvement of fathers in organized leisure-time PA reduced their children's odds of meeting the SC recommendation on weekdays (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.31-0.89) and at weekends (OR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.24-0.72). The excessive ST of parents at weekends reduced the odds of their children meeting the SC recommendation (mother-child dyads: OR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.26-0.72; father-child dyads: OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.37-1.06). High levels of parents' PA contribute to the achievement of the recommended daily PA in children on weekdays and at weekends. Excessive weekend ST of parents reduces their odds of their children achieving the recommended daily PA; however, the influence of parents' PA on their children's achieving the recommended daily PA is stronger than the inhibitory effect of ST.

Zusammenfassung: Lange Sitzzeiten und zu wenig Bewegung stellen zentrale Public Health-Probleme dar. Die epidemiologische Studienlage unterstreicht, dass bei einem vorwiegend sitzend geprägten Lebensstil eine Reduzierung und Unterbrechung von Sitzzeiten durch eine Förderung alltäglicher Ativitäten (z.B. Stehen am Arbeitsplatz), präventiv und eigenständig auf viele chronisch-degenerative Erkrankungen und lebensverlängernd wirkt. Public Health Initiativen sollten dies verstärkt berücksichtigen.

Background Neighborhood walkability has consistently been associated with utilitarian walking and total physical activity in non-European studies. However, evidence on environmental correlates of physical activity in Europe is still scarce and little is known about potential interactions between neighborhood walkability, active travel, and individual or household related characteristics including available means of transport. Methods The study examined the association of neighborhood walkability with self-reported active travel in Bielefeld, Germany. Travel survey data from 2867 adult residents and geographic information for 88 neighborhoods were analyzed in multilevel Poisson regression models including relevant interaction terms to assess potential effect modifications by age, gender, household members, available means of transport, and neighborhood socio-economic status. Results Active travel frequencies increased with female gender, available bicycles, neighborhood walkability and decreased with more household members, motorcars, and public transport passes within households. In the final model, a one standard deviation change in neighborhood walkability was associated with an estimated 27.5% increase in active travel trips. Stronger effects were found at younger ages and in participants with greater motorcar availability. No evidence was found for an effect modification by neighborhood socioeconomic status, household members, available public transport passes, or gender. Conclusions The positive association between neighborhood walkability and active travel shown in other urban contexts was confirmed in a historically evolved city in Germany. The observed effect varied with respondents’ age and available motorcars, which is in line with recent findings and suggests that public health advocacy in urban planning could promote physical activity on a population level, including those with motorcar access.

The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study (HBSC) uses the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) as a tool to identify the socioeconomic status of children and adolescents. Even though it is now widely applied in research studies, the external criterion validation of FAS has not been verified in terms of objective economic indicators in Central Europe. The aim of this study is to validate FAS in terms of disposable income per capita in 14 Czech administrative regions. Regional differences in the FAS score were analyzed using Pearson correlation and linear regression to measure the dependency of the aggregated mean of the FAS index at the regional level on data from the Czech HSBC survey carried out from April to June 2014 (n = 10,361). The data analysis has shown an overall positive correlation between the FAS index and regional disposable income (R = 0.77, p < 0.01). The regional disposable income per person could explain 59.7% of the variance in the FAS index (p < 0.01). By validating individual items, the authors identified three items with a significant correlation (p < 0.01): number of computers, dishwasher at home, and number of holidays. FAS seems to be a valid instrument to measure adolescents’ socioeconomic status.

We present the 7-year follow-up analysis in overweight children and adolescents, who had participated originally in a randomized control trial of a lifestyle intervention. We compared them to an untreated population-based control group to demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention.Degree of overweight (BMI-SDS) was determined in 32 overweight children (mean age 11.5 ± 1.5yrs, 65.6% females, mean BMI 23.7 ± 1.5 kg/mThe participants in the intervention group reduced significantly their BMI-SDS between T0-T1 (mean ± standard deviation -0.28 ± 0.28, p 0.001) and demonstrated no significant changes between T1-T2 (mean ± standard deviation -0.10 ± 0.34) and between T2-T3 (median +0.07; interquartile range: -0.54-0.62). BMI-SDS at T3 was significantly (p = 0.015) lower compared to T0. At T3, 46.8% of the participants in the intervention were normal-weight. The reduction in BMI-SDS between T0-T3 was significantly (p = 0.043) greater in the intervention group (median -0.26; interquartile range -0.87-0.23 BMI-SDS) compared to the control group (mean ± standard deviation -0.05 ± 0.77).The lifestyle intervention led to a significant reduction of overweight in the 7-year follow-up period. This decrease in BMI-SDS was significantly greater than the changes in BMI-SDS in a control group. This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00422916).

OBJECTIVE: Screen-based behaviours such as watching television or computer use are among the most prevalent sedentary behaviours adolescents spend time on. There is a lack of recent estimates on prevalence and changes in the amount of time spent on screen-based behaviour across Central and Eastern Europe. The main aim is to assess the trends in the prevalence of current recommendations for the screen time (≤2 hours per day) of school-aged children in the Czech Republic between 2002 and 2014.METHODS: We used an internationally established methodology based on the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HSBC) study. Data was derived from Czech national representative samples of 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds collected in the years 2002 (N=4,065), 2006 (N=4,170), 2010 (N=3,962) and 2014 (N=4,338).RESULTS: The results indicated that the boys and girl surveyed in 2014 are up to two times more likely to meet the current recommendations for watching television in comparison with groups of schoolchildren of the same age surveyed in 2002. In contrast, computer use by adolescents increased markedly between 2006 and 2014. Taking total screen time into account, spending two hours per day or less on it decreased significantly among boys (OR=0.74, 95% CI=0.62-0.89) and girls (OR=0.80, 95% CI=0.70-0.92) between 2006 and 2014.CONCLUSIONS: As screen time is an important indicator of time spent in a sedentary way, our findings call for more interventions to reduce the time that school-aged children spend in front of screens.

Background: The aim of this study is to explore if perception of an activity-friendly environment is associated with more physical activity and fewer screen-based activities among adolescents. Methods: We collected self-reported data in 2014 via the Health Behavior in School-aged Children cross-sectional study from four European countries (n = 13,800, mean age = 14.4, 49.4% boys). We explored the association of perceived environment (e.g., "There are other children nearby home to go out and play with") with physical activity and screen-based activities using a binary logistic regression model adjusted for age, gender, family affluence and country. Results: An environment perceived as activity-friendly was associated with higher odds that adolescents meet recommendations for physical activity (odds ratio (OR) for one standard deviation (SD) change = 1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05-1.18) and lower odds for excessive screen-based activities (OR for 1 SD better = 0.93, 95% CI 0.88-0.98). Conclusions: Investment into an activity-friendly environment may support the promotion of active life styles in adolescence.

Background This study focuses on the comparison of weekday/weekend parent-child behavioural patterns (step count (SC) and screen time (ST)) and answers the question of whether achieving the recommendations for daily SC (10,000) in parents also helps their preschool children achieve the recommended daily SC (11,500). Methods The participants (278 parents aged 30–45 and their 194 children aged 4–7) were randomly recruited from 10 Czech public kindergartens. The participants recorded SC (pedometer Yamax Digiwalker SW-200) and ST duration (proxy-report) for seven consecutive days (≥8 h/day) during September–October 2014 and April–May 2015. Differences between weekdays/weekends SC or ST were tested using a paired t-test. The odds of achieving the recommended daily SC for children were estimated using general logistic regression separately for weekdays and weekends. Results Only the mothers were found to have a significantly lower SC at weekends than on weekdays. All of the participants showed significantly more ST at weekends than on weekdays (daughters: 78.6 vs. 45.7 min/day, p

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine whether the correlates of physical activity (PA) differed as a function of two different PA recommendations: (1) the Fitness Recommendation, i.e., the improvement of cardiovascular fitness by 3 × 20 min/week of vigorously intense PA and (2) the health-enhancing PA (HEPA) concept such as the emphasis on the important benefits to health and fitness by performing 5 × 60 min/week of moderately intense PA. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. In a sample of 524 adolescents (50.2% males, mean age = 15.0), we quantified different (demographic/biological, psychological, behavioural) self-reported correlates of PA as well as compliance with the PA recommendations. Sex-specific multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify correlates of fulfiling the two PA recommendations. Results: Multivariate analyses revealed differences between the correlates and PA-specific Recommendations. For boys, only the Fitness Recommendation was significantly associated with psychosocial variables (self-efficacy and behavioural change strategies) and membership in a sports club. For girls, membership in a sports club was significantly associated with both PA recommendations. However, this association was positive with respect to the Fitness Recommendation and negative with respect to the HEPA Recommendation. Conclusion: Our results provided some preliminary indication that correlates differ depending on specific recommendations in 14–16-year-old boys and girls. Moreover some variability with regard to sex was observed.

Purpose Engaging in prolonged screen-time behaviors (STBs) is detrimental for health. The objective of the present analyses was to examine temporal trends in TV viewing and computer use among adolescents across 30 countries. Methods Data were derived from the cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. Data on TV viewing and computer use for gaming and nongaming purposes were collected in 2002 (n = 139,725 [51.4% girls]), 2006 (n = 149,251 [51.3% girls]), and 2010 (n = 154,845 [51.2% girls]). The temporal trends in TV viewing and computer use were each tested for all countries combined and for each individual country by sex-specific univariate analysis of variance. Results Between 2002 and 2010, TV viewing decreased slightly in most of the 30 countries among both boys and girls. This decrease was more than offset by a sharp increase in computer use, which was consistent across all countries. Overall, boys reported more hours of STBs. They also reported a slightly larger decrease in TV viewing and slightly larger increase in computer use. STBs were generally more frequent on weekend days. Conclusions The overall cross-national increases in STBs should be a call to action for public health practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers that interventions specifically focused on reducing STBs in youth are sorely needed. Because all countries experienced a trend in the same direction, it might be fruitful to learn more about the determinants of STBs among those countries in which hours of STBs are generally low as compared with other countries.