Yukti Padwal

SURVEY ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

AND SPORTS PARTICIPATION IN
SCHOOL CHILDREN
 INTRODUCTION
Childhood and adolescence are important periods of life due to dramatic changes
in various physiological and psychological aspects, and also due to
healthy/unhealthy lifestyle and behaviors are formed during this time (Ruiz &
Ortega, 2009). Behaviors established in childhood tend to track into adolescence
and adulthood. Overweight/obese youth are at a five times greater risk of obesity
in early adulthood compared with children at the same age with normal weight
(Thompson et al., 2007). The unique needs for children warrant specific activity
guidelines to promote physical activity in children. Schools have been called upon
by many professional agencies and public health groups to play a key role in
promoting physical activity. Many states have established guidelines that call for
youth to obtain at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week (essentially half
of the daily recommendation since children are in school half the day). Surprisingly,
there has been little work focused on developing instruments that can evaluate
and track children’s level of physical activity at school. Physical education has
tended to focus on assessments of health related physical fitness, but emphasis is
also needed to help students establish lifelong physical active patterns (Pate &
Hohn, 1994). ......................
 INTRODUCTION
Coordinated fitness testing certainly has value when used appropriately in physical education. However,
.................................

it can also send the wrong message by only focusing youth on achieving fitness rather than on also being physically
active (Welk, 2008). A variety of self-report instruments are available to measure youth PA but it is important to
consider their relative advantages and disadvantages for school applications (Sallis & Saelens, 2000). The most
commonly used and validated self-report instruments include Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ), Self-
administered Physical Activity Checklist (SAPAC), and the Previous Day Physical Activity Recall (PDPAR). In addition,
the FITNESSGRAM program developed a computerized self-report instrument based on the PDPAR (ACTIVITYGRAM)
that has considerable potential for school-based PA assessment (FITNESSGRAM Manual). It has been shown to
provide valid estimates of physical activity but it has not been widely adopted in schools due to the requirement to
collect and enter data over several days. Simpler self-report tools may be needed to facilitate the adoption of these
tools in schools. Among the available validated self-report instruments, the most promising tool may be PAQ. The
PAQ is a self-report tool designed to assess student activity during school session. It is also easy to use and quick to
administer (Crocker, 1997). There are two versions of PAQ depending on age and school setting. Be specific, PAQ-
Children (PAQ-C) includes nine items, and eight items for PAQ-Adolescent (PAQ-A). Each question scored on a 5-point
scale and combined for a total physical activity score. The values are averaged to create a composite score with a
higher value indicative of a higher activity level (Crocker, 1997). One Strength of the PAQ is that it quantifies a
general physical activity level for a whole week rather than trying to estimate overall frequency, intensity and
duration with detailed questions. The PAQ also provides specific information about activity levels at different periods
of the day (e.g. morning, lunch, recess, physical education, after school etc.). Similar to the ACTIVITYGRAM, this
feature may assist in activity promotion efforts. Key advantages are that it is simple, easy to complete, and easily
administrated in school settings with a large-scale population (Kowalski, Crocker, & Donen, 2004). Several studies
have supported the psychometric characteristics of the PAQ. Studies have shown that the PAQ has acceptable item-
scale properties, reliability, internal consistency, sensitivity to gender and season differences (Crocker, 1997), all of
which indicate that PAQ-C is a valid questionnaire to assess children's general level of physical activity. .............
 INTRODUCTION
......................A more recent validation study also confirmed the good internal
consistency and concurrent validity of PAQ (Janz, Lutuchy, Wenthe, & Levy, 2008). In
addition, Janz et al (2008) showed a higher association between the PAQ-A and MVPA
than associations between the PAQ-A and total PA minutes. The PAQ has good
potential for use in school-based testing but additional research is needed to evaluate
gender and age-related patterns and relationships with other indicators such as
physical fitness. Admittedly, health-related fitness testing is the predominant approach
in physical education system, though debates of fitness testing have been increasing in
recent years (Cale, Harris, & Chen, 2007; Corbin, Pangrazi, & Welk, 1995; Rowland,
1995). Silverman et al. (2008) addressed the value of administering and interpreting
health related fitness tests in fitness education. However, incorporating both the
physical activity assessment and fitness testing in fitness education might better
develop fitness and physical activity plans and help increase students' knowledge and
motivation for physical activity (Welk, 2008). The PAQ is a practical and easy to use,
self-report survey that has considerable potential for use in school based
programming.
 Purpose of the Study
• The goal of the present study is to evaluate the utility of a modified version of the PAQ (Youth
Activity Profile - YAP) designed for use in schools. The YAP provides separate estimates of
school activity, out of school activity and sedentary behavior.
• Six of the items are based conceptually on items from the existing PAQ while four additional
items were developed to capture activity at other time periods (both at school and at home).
• The YAP also includes five additional items designed to capture sedentary behavior. Reducing
sedentary behavior is an important priority for youth activity promotion so it is important to
have an estimate of this behaviour.
• The primary goal of the study was to evaluate age and gender-related patterns in YAP scores
in order to better understand and to capture descriptive information about levels of physical
activity (and sedentary behavior) in school children.
• A secondary goal was to examine relationships between physical activity and physical fitness.
This is intended to provide an evaluation of the validity of the YAP tool and to provide insights
about how it might complement fitness evaluations in physical education.
• Collectively, the study will help to evaluate the value of incorporating both physical activity
assessment and physical fitness testing together in PE curriculum.
 Aims and objective
Aim of the study
 
– To determine the level of physical activity in adolscents
 
 Objective of the study
 
To determine time spend in physical activity per week
To determine time spent in sedentary activity per week
Genderwise – Standardwise comparison
Standard Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Total
wise
Girls 3 18 8 10 19 58
Boys 3 6 15 7 11 42
Total 6 24 23 17 30 100

70

60

50

40
Girls
30 Boys

20

10

0
Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Total
 PE Activitywise comparison
A moderate
Almost none A little bit of A lot of the Almost all of
Standard wise amount of Total
of the time the time time time the time

Girls 8 26 11 2 11 58
Boys 7 10 9 2 14 42
Total 15 36 20 4 25 100

60

50

40

30

20
Girls
10 Boys
0
l
e e e e e ta
e tim e tim f tim e tim e tim To
h h o h h
oft o ft u nt oft o ft
on
e it o lo
t all
n leb e am A o st
t litt at
os A er Al
m
lm o d
A m
A
 Recess Activitywise comparison
A moderate
Almost none A little bit of A lot of the Almost all of
Standardwise amount of Total
of the time the time time time the time
Girls 15 19 10 9 5 58
Boys 14 8 5 6 9 42
Total 29 27 15 15 14 100

60
50
40
30
20
10 Girls
0 Boys
l
e
m
e e e e ta
e ti
m
e ti f ti
m
e tim e ti
m To
h h o h h
ft ft nt ft ft
e o
it
o o u to all
o
on b m lo t
tn le ea A os
os litt at m
m A er Al
Al od
m
A
After School Activitywise comparison
Standard
0 days 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 to 5 days Total
wise
Girls 28 7 10 10 3 58
Boys 15 6 5 12 4 42
Total 43 13 15 22 7 100
60

50

40

30 Girls
Boys
20

10

0
0 days 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 to 5 days Total
Week Night Activitywise comparison
Standard 0 days 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 to 5 days Total
wise
Girls 27 9 9 3 10 58
Boys 18 8 0 1 15 42
Total 45 17 9 4 25 100

70

60

50

40
Girls
30
Boys
20

10

0
0 days 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 to 5 days Total
 Saturday Activitywise comparison
Small amount of Small to Moderate Moderate to Large Large amount of
No activity (0
Standardwise minutes) activity (1 to 30 amount activity amount of activity activity (more Total
minutes) (31 to 60 minutes) (1 to 2 hours) than 2 hours)
Girls 8 25 10 4 11 58
Boys 3 13 6 3 17 42
Total 11 38 16 7 28 100

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
s) s) l
s) s) s) ta Girls
u te u te ute ur ur To
in in in h o ho Boys
m m m 2 2
(0 30 60 to ha
n
v ity to to (1 et
ti (1 1 ity or
ac iv ty y (3 cti
v
( m
No ti vi t fa y
f ac acti t o tivit
o n c
nt nt ou of
a
ou ou am
n t
m am rg
e ou
la l a ate La m
Sm er o ea
od tet arg
M a L
o er
la l t od
M
Sm
 Sunday Activitywise comparison
Small to Moderate to Large amount
Small amount Moderate
No activity (0 Large amount of activity
Standardwise of activity (1 to amount activity Total
minutes) of activity (1 to (more than 2
30 minutes) (31 to 60 2 hours) hours)
minutes)
Girls 3 18 13 18 6 58
Boys 2 5 9 21 5 42
Total 5 23 22 39 11 100

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Girls
Boys
 TV Time wise comparison
I didn't I watched I watched 1 I watched 2 I watched
Standard less than 1 more than 3
watch TV at to 2 hours to 3 hours Total
wise all hour per per day per day hours per
day day
Girls 7 26 15 5 5 58
Boys 2 22 15 2 1 42
Total 9 48 30 7 6 100

60
50
40
30
20
10
Girls
0 Boys
l
all da
y
da
y
da
y
da
y ta
at r r r r To
TV pe s pe pe sp
e
tch ur ur ur
s
ur
a ho ho ho ho
tw 1 2 3 3
n' n to to n
id tha 1 2 ha
Id s
ed ed
t
les ch ch or
e
ed at at m
tch Iw Iw ed
a tch
Iw a
Iw
 Phone Timewise comparison
I used a I used a I used a I used a
I didn’t
Standard really use a phone less phone 1 to phone 2 to phone more Total
wise than 1 hour 2 hours per 3 hours per than 3 hours
cell phone
per day day day per day
Girls 8 30 12 4 4 58
Boys 8 25 5 3 1 42
Total 16 55 17 7 5 100

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Girls
l
e y y ay ay ta
h on r da r da rd rd To
Boys
ell p r pe s pe sp
e
sp
e
ac ho
u ur ur ur
e ho ho ho
us 1 2 3 3
ly an to to n
al th 1 2 ha
re s
ne ne
t
’t les o o or
e
i dn e h h m
Id hon ap ap e
ap
d d on
se se h
se
d I u I u ap
d
Iu se
Iu
 Sedentary Habitwise comparison
I spent a
I spent almost I spent little I spent a lot of I spent
moderate
Standardwise none of my time sitting amount of time time sitting almost all of Total
free time during my during my free my free time
sitting free time sitting during time sitting
my free time
Girls 14 33 6 4 1 58
Boys 10 20 9 2 1 42
Total 24 53 15 6 2 100

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Girls
Boys

Thanks