Weather and children's physical activity; how and why do relationships vary between countries?
- Harrison F Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
- Goodman A Faculty of Epidemiology and Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, UK.
- van Sluijs EMF MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 285 Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK. esther.vansluijs@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk.
- Andersen LB Norwegian School of Sport Science, Oslo, Norway, and Faculty of Teacher Education and Sport, Sogn og Fjordane University College, Førde, Norway.
- Cardon G Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
- Davey R Centre for Research & Action in Public Health, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia.
- Janz KF Department of Health and Human Physiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA.
- Kriemler S Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health Institute, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
- Molloy L School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- Page AS Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- Pate R Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA.
- Puder JJ Service of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism & Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Sardinha LB Exercise and Health Laboratory, Department of Sports and Health, CIPER, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Cruz-Quebrada, Lisbon, Portugal.
- Timperio A Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
- Wedderkopp N University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
- Jones AP Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
- 2017-06-01
Published in:
- The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity. - 2017
Adolescent
Child
ICAD
Physical activity
Season
Weather
Accelerometry
Adolescent
Australia
Child
Child, Preschool
Europe
Exercise
Female
Humans
Male
Motor Activity
Photoperiod
Rain
Seasons
Weather
Wind
English
BACKGROUND
Globally most children do not engage in enough physical activity. Day length and weather conditions have been identified as determinants of physical activity, although how they may be overcome as barriers is not clear. We aim to examine if and how relationships between children's physical activity and weather and day length vary between countries and identify settings in which children were better able to maintain activity levels given the weather conditions they experienced.
METHODS
In this repeated measures study, we used data from 23,451 participants in the International Children's Accelerometry Database (ICAD). Daily accelerometer-measured physical activity (counts per minute; cpm) was matched to local weather conditions and the relationships assessed using multilevel regression models. Multilevel models accounted for clustering of days within occasions within children within study-cities, and allowed us to explore if and how the relationships between weather variables and physical activity differ by setting.
RESULTS
Increased precipitation and wind speed were associated with decreased cpm while better visibility and more hours of daylight were associated with increased cpm. Models indicated that increases in these variables resulted in average changes in mean cpm of 7.6/h of day length, -13.2/cm precipitation, 10.3/10 km visibility and -10.3/10kph wind speed (all p < 0.01). Temperature showed a cubic relationship with cpm, although between 0 and 20 degrees C the relationship was broadly linear. Age showed interactions with temperature and precipitation, with the associations larger among younger children. In terms of geographic trends, participants from Northern European countries and Melbourne, Australia were the most active, and also better maintained their activity levels given the weather conditions they experienced compared to those in the US and Western Europe.
CONCLUSIONS
We found variation in the relationship between weather conditions and physical activity between ICAD studies and settings. Children in Northern Europe and Melbourne, Australia were not only more active on average, but also more active given the weather conditions they experienced. Future work should consider strategies to mitigate the impacts of weather conditions, especially among young children, and interventions involving changes to the physical environment should consider how they will operate in different weather conditions.
Globally most children do not engage in enough physical activity. Day length and weather conditions have been identified as determinants of physical activity, although how they may be overcome as barriers is not clear. We aim to examine if and how relationships between children's physical activity and weather and day length vary between countries and identify settings in which children were better able to maintain activity levels given the weather conditions they experienced.
METHODS
In this repeated measures study, we used data from 23,451 participants in the International Children's Accelerometry Database (ICAD). Daily accelerometer-measured physical activity (counts per minute; cpm) was matched to local weather conditions and the relationships assessed using multilevel regression models. Multilevel models accounted for clustering of days within occasions within children within study-cities, and allowed us to explore if and how the relationships between weather variables and physical activity differ by setting.
RESULTS
Increased precipitation and wind speed were associated with decreased cpm while better visibility and more hours of daylight were associated with increased cpm. Models indicated that increases in these variables resulted in average changes in mean cpm of 7.6/h of day length, -13.2/cm precipitation, 10.3/10 km visibility and -10.3/10kph wind speed (all p < 0.01). Temperature showed a cubic relationship with cpm, although between 0 and 20 degrees C the relationship was broadly linear. Age showed interactions with temperature and precipitation, with the associations larger among younger children. In terms of geographic trends, participants from Northern European countries and Melbourne, Australia were the most active, and also better maintained their activity levels given the weather conditions they experienced compared to those in the US and Western Europe.
CONCLUSIONS
We found variation in the relationship between weather conditions and physical activity between ICAD studies and settings. Children in Northern Europe and Melbourne, Australia were not only more active on average, but also more active given the weather conditions they experienced. Future work should consider strategies to mitigate the impacts of weather conditions, especially among young children, and interventions involving changes to the physical environment should consider how they will operate in different weather conditions.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- gold
- Identifiers
-
- DOI 10.1186/s12966-017-0526-7
- PMID 28558747
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/47953
Statistics
Document views: 77
File downloads:
- Full-text: 0