Background:
The aim of the study was to examine the association of daily variations in rainfall and temperature with sedentary time (ST) and physical activity (PA) in European children.
Methods:
Children were included from 5 countries (Belgium, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland) as part of the ENERGY-project. We used cross-sectional data from 722 children aged 10–12 years (47% boys). ST and PA were measured by accelerometers for 6 consecutive days, including weekend days. Weather data were collected from online national weather reports. Multilevel regression models were used for data analyses.
Results:
Maximum temperature was positively associated with light PA (β = 3.1 min/day; 95% CI = 2.4–3.8), moderate-to-vigorous PA (β = 0.6 min/day; 95% CI = 0.4–0.8), and average PA [β = 4.1 counts per minute (cpm); 95% CI = 1.6–6.5, quadratic relationship]. Rainfall was inversely and quadratically associated with light PA (β = –1.3 min/day; 95% CI = –1.9 to –0.6), moderate-to-vigorous PA (β = –0.6 min/day; 95% CI = –0.8 to –0.3), and average PA (β = –1.6 cpm; 95% CI = –2.2 to –0.9). Maximum temperature was not significantly associated with ST (β = –0.2 min/day; 95% CI = –1.0 to 0.6), while rainfall was positively associated with ST (β = 0.9 min/day; 95% CI = 0.6–1.3).
Conclusion:
The current study shows that temperature and rainfall are significantly associated with PA and ST in 10- to 12-year-old European children.
