Are There Any Differences between First Grade Boys and Girls in Physical Fitness, Physical Activity, BMI, and Sedentary Behavior? Results of HCSC Study

The transition from kindergarten to school is associated with a variety of negative changes. After entry to elementary school physical activity level decreases. Moreover, physical fitness level of children over the past decades have rapidly declined. Children are spending an increasing amount of time in the environments that require constant sitting. We evaluated the differences between boys and girls in physical fitness, frequency of undertaking of different forms of physical activity, prevalence of underweight and overweight, and time spent on sedentary behavior. A total of 212 first grade pupils (mean age 6.95 ± 0.43) from two standard urban schools in Poznań participated in the study. Compared to girls, boys obtained better results in 20-meter run (4.9 s and 5.0 s, p < 0.01), sit-ups (16.8 and 15.3, p < 0.05), six-minute run (829.7 m and 766.4 m, p < 0.001), and standing broad jump (106.8 cm and 99.7 cm, p < 0.01). In the sit-and-reach test girls achieved higher results than boys (17.0 cm and 14.4 cm, p < 0.001). There were no gender differences in prevalence of underweight and overweight. In conclusions, difference between genders should be taken into consideration during designing physical activity programs in the aspects of intensity and forms of physical activities.

The relationship between cultural capital and lifestyle health behaviours in young people: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

While the universal prevalence of unhealthy lifestyle behaviours is high, cultural capital as a non-material resource shaping individuals' tastes can provide a substantial insight into different lifestyle behaviour choices. The aim of the present systematic review was to examine the evidence on the association between the three forms of cultural capital and lifestyle health behaviours.

STUDY DESIGN

This is a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Quality appraisal was carried out using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies (QAT-OCCSS).

METHODS

The review included searches of 13 electronic databases with no restriction on the year of publication. Data were extracted using inclusion criteria and analysed using a narrative format. Eighteen studies were eligible for inclusion.

RESULTS

The relationship between cultural capital and lifestyle behaviours was confirmed in the studies measuring institutionalised cultural capital, and mostly supported in the studies that measured objectified and embodied cultural capital. While cultural capital had a significant relationship with some lifestyle behaviours, it was not significantly related to others. The important methodological weaknesses in the literature preclude the ability to state the associations as unequivocal.

CONCLUSION

While the association between cultural capital and lifestyle behaviours was supported in most of the included studies, more rigorous research methods are required to effectively assess the causality between cultural capital and lifestyle behaviours. More precise findings may lead to new entry points for the development of interventions to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours.

Socioeconomic position during childhood and physical activity during adulthood: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

A growing body of evidence links socioeconomic position early in life and physical activity during adulthood. This systematic review aimed to summarize this evidence.

METHODS

Medline and EMBASE were searched for studies that assessed socioeconomic position before age 18 years and physical activity at age ≥18 years. Studies were rated according to three key methodological quality criteria: (1) was childhood socioeconomic position assessed prospectively? (2) Was socioeconomic position during adulthood included in the statistical analysis? (3) Was a validated instrument used to measure of physical activity?

RESULTS

Forty-two publications were included. Twenty-six (61.9 %) found a significant association between socioeconomic position early in life and physical activity during adulthood. Twenty-one studies met at least two methodological quality criteria. Among those, the proportion was higher: 15/21 (71.4 %). Associations were of weak to moderate strength, positive for physical activity during leisure time, and negative for transports and work.

CONCLUSIONS

The bulk of the evidence supports the notion that there is a life course association between socioeconomic position early in life and physical activity during adulthood. Studies using more rigorous methodology supported this conclusion more consistently.

Will they stay fit and healthy? A three-year follow-up evaluation of a physical activity and health intervention in Polish youth

AIMS

In this paper we evaluate the sustainability of changes of involvement in physical activity. The paper examines the effectiveness of a model aiming at influencing the frequency of leisure time physical activity, physical fitness and body constituency in youth.

METHODS

The baseline of this study was a randomly selected sample of 13 year olds who participated in an intervention programme carried out in three schools in Poznan in 2005-08. From a total of 199 adolescent boys a subsample of 38 individuals from the experimental group and 34 from the control group were followed for 15 months after the interventional programme finished. From 170 girls, a subsample of 33 from the experimental group and 32 girls from the control group were also randomly selected for the follow-up study. Among the variables monitored were: physical fitness, body constituency, and frequency of leisure time physical activity. All the variables were monitored in pre-test, post-test and follow-up examinations.

RESULTS

It was established that 15 months after the end of the interventional programme boys and girls from the intervention groups maintained a higher level of leisure time physical activity than their control group peers, and similarly in the case of selected health-related components of physical fitness. No distinctive differences were found in the case of body constituency, though, apart from muscle mass and the sum of skinfolds in girls.

CONCLUSIONS

The study exposed an increase in leisure time physical activity in time and a positive influence on selected components of health-related variables. The findings confirm the effectiveness of a multi-level intervention programme involving self-determined out-of-school physical activity planning for school-age youths, indicating the importance of personal and social context.