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AIM: This study investigated objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time by sex, age and socioeconomic status in a large representative sample of Swedish adolescents. METHODS: In this cross-sectional national survey between 2016 and 2017, students aged 11-12, 14-15 and 17-18 years from 131 schools were invited to participate. Physical activity and sedentary time were measured objectively with accelerometers for seven consecutive days. Socioeconomic status (parental education) and country of birth were self-reported in a questionnaire. Weight and height were measured by trained staff. RESULTS: A total of 3477 adolescents participated in the study, and 2419 (73%) had at least 3 days of valid accelerometer data. The results showed that 43% of boys and 23% of girls reached the recommendation of 60 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Boys were more physically active than girls in all age groups. Girls with high socioeconomic status were more physically active than girls with low socioeconomic status (P

Background: Physical activity is important to maintain and promote health. This is of particular interest in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) where acquired heart disease should be prevented. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum of 2.5 h/week of physical activity exceeding 3 metabolic equivalents (METS) to achieve positive health effects. It is unknown whether physical activity levels (PAL) in adult CHD patients differ by country of origin. Methods: 3896 adults with CHD recruited from 15 countries over 5 continents completed self-reported instruments, including the Health Behaviour Scale (HBS-CHD), within the APPROACH-IS project. For each patient, we calculated whether WHO recommendations were achieved or not. Associated factors were investigated using Generalized Linear Mixed Models. Results: On average, 31% reached the WHO recommendations but with a great variation between geographical areas (India: 10%–Norway: 53%). Predictors for physical activity level in line with the WHO recommendations, with country of residence as random effect, were male sex (OR 1.78, 95%CI 1.52–2.08), NYHA-class I (OR 3.10, 95%CI 1.71–5.62) and less complex disease (OR 1.46, 95%CI 1.16–1.83). In contrast, older age (OR 0.97, 95%CI 0.96–0.98), lower educational level (OR 0.41, 95%CI 0.26–0.64) and being unemployed (OR 0.57, 95%CI 0.42–0.77) were negatively associated with reaching WHO recommendations. Conclusions: A significant proportion of patients with CHD did not reach the WHO physical activity recommendations. There was a large variation in physical activity level by country of origin. Based on identified predictors, vulnerable patients may be identified and offered specific behavioral interventions. Keywords: Adult congenital heart disease, Physical activity level, Patient-reported outcome, Health-behaviour scale, Physical activity recommendation, Metabolic equivalent

Background Identifying individual characteristics linked with physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (SED) can assist in designing health-enhancing interventions for children. We examined cross-sectional associations of temperament characteristics with 1) PA and SED and 2) meeting the PA recommendation in Finnish children. Methods Altogether, 697 children (age: 4.7 ± 0.9 years, 51.6% boys) within the Increased Health and Wellbeing in Preschools (DAGIS) study were included. Parents responded to the Very Short Form of the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire consisting of three temperament dimensions: surgency, negative affectivity, and effortful control. PA and SED were assessed for 7 days (24 h per day) using a hip-worn ActiGraph accelerometer, and the daily minutes spent in light PA (LPA), moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA), and SED were calculated. The PA recommendation was defined as having PA at least 180 min/day, of which at least 60 min/day was in moderate-to-vigorous PA. Adjusted linear and logistic regression analyses were applied. Results Surgency was associated with LPA (B = 3.80, p = 0.004), MPA (B = 4.87, p p p p p p p p = 0.004). Negative affectivity was not associated with PA, SED, or meeting the PA recommendation. Conclusion Children’s temperament should be considered when promoting PA in preschoolers. Special attention should be paid to children scoring high in the temperament dimension effortful control.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine if Korean adults meet their physical activity recommendations during their leisure time to promote a healthy living. [Subjects and Methods] The sample included South Korean adults, aged over 20, who were currently residing in K City, South Korea. The author used a quota sampling technique to select 1,000 samples. Of the 1,000 questionnaires distributed, 845 questionnaires were used to conduct a χ(2) test. [Results] It was revealed by the questionnaire that there was a clear distinction in the categories of very high level activity (11.0%), high level activity (29.1%), acceptable level activity (12.9%), low level activity (9.7%), and inactive level of physical activity (38.3%) in Korean adults' leisure time. [Conclusions] The most interesting finding was that more than half of Korean adults do reach the recommendation of at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, on three or more days a week for at least three months. The other interesting finding was that the questionnaire is a useful instrument suitable for analyzing the recommendations of physical activity, comprising frequency, intensity, time, and overall duration.

Although it is crucial to examine the environmental correlates of physical activity (PA) for developing more effective interventions for overweight populations, limited studies have investigated differences in the environmental correlates on body mass index (BMI). The purpose of the present study was to examine the perceived environmental correlates of PA among normal-weight and overweight Japanese men. Data were analyzed for 1,420 men (aged 44.4 ± 8.3 years), who responded to an internet-based cross-sectional survey of answering the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and its Environment Module. Binary logistic regression analyses were utilized to examine the environmental factors associated with meeting the PA recommendation (150 minutes/week) between the normal-weight and overweight men. After adjusting for socio-demographic variables, common and different environmental correlates of PA were observed among normal-weight and overweight men. Furthermore, significant interactions regarding PA were observed between BMI status and two environmental correlates: access to public transportation (P = 0.03) and crime safety during the day (P = 0.01). The results indicated that BMI status is a potential moderator between perceived environmental factors and PA and suggested that different environmental intervention approaches should be developed for overweight populations.