Background: Active transportation (AT), described as self-powered modes of travel (eg, walking and cycling), is an important source of health-promoting physical activity. While AT behaviors have been measured on national health surveys in Canada for over 2 decades, historic prevalence has not been previously reported. We aimed to document the measures of AT on Canada’s various national health surveys, examine AT over time, and interpret them within the context of evolving methods of assessment. Methods: We compiled and summarized the questions used to measure AT among Canadians on 4 national health surveys: National Population Health Survey (1994–1998), Canadian Community Health Survey (2000–2020), Canadian Health Measures Survey (2007–2019), and the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study (2010–2018). Among youth and adults (12+ y), we summarized over time: (1) the prevalence of AT participation and (2) time spent in AT (in hours per week) among those who report any AT participation. Where possible, we reported separate estimates of walking and cycling and produced an aggregate estimate of total AT. We stratified results by age group and sex. Results: Changes in AT survey questions over time and between surveys limit the interpretation and comparability of temporal trends. Nevertheless, a consistently higher proportion of females report walking, while a higher proportion of males report cycling. Irrespective of mode, males report spending more total time in AT. Participation in AT tends to decrease with age, with youth reporting the highest rates of AT and young adults often spending the most time in AT. Conclusions: Monitoring trends in AT can help assess patterns of behavior and identify whether promotion strategies are needed or whether population interventions are effective. Our evaluation of AT over time is limited by questions surveyed; however, consistent differences in AT by age and sex are evident over time. Moving forward, ensuring consistency of AT measurement over time is essential to monitoring this important behavior.
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Measuring Active Transportation on National Health Surveys in Canada From 1994 to 2020
Parya Borhani, Kathryn L. Walker, Gregory P. Butler, Valérie Lavergne, Gisèle Contreras, and Stephanie A. Prince
Prevalence and Correlates of Adherence to the Global Total Physical Activity Guideline Based on Step Counting Among 3- to 4-Year-Olds: Evidence From SUNRISE Pilot Studies From 17 Countries
Tawonga W. Mwase-Vuma, Xanne Janssen, Kar Hau Chong, Anthony D. Okely, Mark S. Tremblay, Catherine E. Draper, E. Kipling Webster, Alex Antonio Florindo, Amanda E. Staiano, Bang Nguyen Pham, Chiaki Tanaka, Denise Koh, Hongyan Guan, Hong K. Tang, Marie Löf, Mohammad Sorowar Hossain, Nyaradzai E. Munambah, Penny Cross, PW Prasad Chathurangana, and John J. Reilly
Background: There is limited evidence from globally diverse samples on the prevalence and correlates of meeting the global guideline of 180 minutes per day of total physical activity (TPA) among 3- to 4-year-olds. Methods: Cross-sectional study involving 797 (49.2% girls) 3- to 4-year-olds from 17 middle- and high-income countries who participated in the pilot phases 1 and 2 of the SUNRISE International Study of Movement Behaviours in the Early Years. Daily step count was measured using thigh-worn activPAL accelerometers. Children wore the accelerometers for at least one 24-hour period. Children were categorized as meeting the TPA guideline based on achieving ≥11,500 steps per day. Descriptive analyses were conducted to describe the proportion of meeting the TPA guideline for the overall sample and each of the sociodemographic variables, and 95% CIs were calculated. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the sociodemographic correlates of meeting the TPA guideline. Results: Mean daily step count was 10,295 steps per day (SD = 4084). Approximately one-third of the sample (30.9%, 95% CI, 27.6–34.2) met the TPA guideline. The proportion meeting the guideline was significantly lower among girls (adjusted OR [aOR] = 0.70, 95% CI, 0.51–0.96) and 4-year-olds (aOR = 0.50, 95% CI, 0.34–0.75) and higher among rural residents (aOR = 1.78, 95% CI, 1.27–2.49) and those from lower middle-income countries (aOR = 1.35, 95% CI, 0.89–2.04). Conclusions: The findings suggest that a minority of children might meet the TPA guideline globally, and the risk of not meeting the guideline differed by sociodemographic indicators. These findings suggest the need for more surveillance of TPA in young children globally and, possibly, interventions to improve childhood health and development.
The Evolution of Physical Activity and Health Research in China: A Bibliometric Analysis of Study Areas and Sex Balance in Authorship
Kaiyue Zhang, Diana Morales, Junshi Chen, Wenhua Zhao, Anne Tang, Eduardo Kohn, Ding Ding, Andrea Ramirez Varela, Michael Pratt, and Pedro C. Hallal
Background: This article evaluates the evolution of physical activity and health research in China through a bibliometric analysis focused on number of publications, study areas, and sex balance in authorship. Methods: A systematic review was conducted by the Global Observatory for Physical Activity for “physical activity and health” publications between 1950 and 2019. Here, we focus on the 610 Chinese publications identified, defined as those in which data collection took place in China. We assessed the number of publications, classified them into 5 areas (1) surveillance, (2) correlates and determinants, (3) health consequences, (4) interventions, and (5) policy, and analyzed female participation in authorship. Results: The first Chinese publication identified in the review was in 1990. Since, the average number of physical activity and health publications increased from one per year in the 1990s to 7.6 per year in the 2000s, and to 47 per year in the 2010s. Most publications focused on the correlates and determinants (38.7%) and the health consequences of physical activity (35.9%). Physical activity policy accounted for 2.3% of the publications. In the 1990s, 64% of the publications included at least one female author; this proportion increased to 90% in the 2010s. Conclusion: Despite a slow start, China’s research on physical activity and health has grown rapidly since 2000. The distribution of publications by study areas and female participation in authorship is similar to that observed globally, with fewer publications focused on interventions and policy as compared with other topics.
Process Evaluation of a Scaled-Up School-Based Physical Activity Program for Adolescents: Physical Activity 4 Everyone
Matthew Mclaughlin, Jed Duff, Elizabeth Campbell, Tom McKenzie, Lynda Davies, Luke Wolfenden, John Wiggers, and Rachel Sutherland
Background: Physical Activity 4 Everyone (PA4E1) is a whole-school physical activity program, with demonstrated efficacy (2012–2014). PA4E1 was adapted (scaled-up) and tested in a scale-up trial (2017–2020). This process evaluation study of the scale-up trial had 2 aims. First, to describe the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of PA4E1 in the scale-up trial, from the perspective of school staff involved in the program management and delivery. Second, to generate themes that may explain school staff assessments of acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility. Methods: Data were collected at various time points throughout the 2-year implementation phase. Online surveys were collected from In-School Champions, Head Physical Education teachers, Principals, and Physical Education teachers (quantitative data). Focus groups and interviews were conducted with In-School Champions, Principals, and Physical Education teachers (qualitative data). Existing published data on website engagement, adaptations, modifications, and the scale-up trial primary outcome (implementation of physical activity practices) were triangulated with the quantitative and qualitative during analysis, to generate themes. Results: School staff delivering PA4E1 reported it was highly acceptable, appropriate, and feasible. Seven themes were generated relating to acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility. The themes related to how the program was funded, the delivery modes of implementation support, the identification of easy-wins, the recruitment of the right in-school champion, facilitating principal buy-in, mitigating the impact of school staff turnover, and engaging the whole school. Conclusions: Recommendations are made to inform future adaptations for PA4E1 and potentially school-based physical activity programs more generally. The findings may inform future scalability assessments of the suitability of programs for scale-up.
Erratum. Proportion and Correlates of Children in the US-Affiliated Pacific Region Meeting Sleep, Screen Time, and Physical Activity Guidelines
Journal of Physical Activity and Health
Proportion and Correlates of Children in the US-Affiliated Pacific Region Meeting Sleep, Screen Time, and Physical Activity Guidelines
Sarah T. Ryan, Anthony D. Okely, Kar Hau Chong, Rebecca M. Stanley, Melanie Randle, Gade Waqa, Ashley B. Yamanaka, Rachael Leon Guerrero, Patricia Coleman, Leslie Shallcross, Lynne R. Wilkens, Jonathan L. Deenik, and Rachel Novotny
Introduction: Limited data on 24-hour movement behaviors of children aged 5–8 years exist globally. We describe the prevalence and sociodemographic associations of meeting physical activity (PA), sedentary recreational screen time (ST), and sleep guidelines among children from 11 jurisdictions in the US-Affiliated Pacific region. Methods: Cross-sectional representative data from 1192 children aged 5–8 years living in the US-Affiliated Pacific region were drawn from the baseline 2012–2014 Children’s Healthy Living Program. Sleep and moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA were calculated from accelerometry. ST and sociodemographic data were collected from caregiver surveys. The percentage of children meeting the Asia-Pacific 24-hour movement guidelines for PA (≥60 min/d of moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA), sleep (≥9 and ≤ 11 h/d) and ST (≤2 h/d) were calculated. Generalized linear mixed models were used to examine associations with adiposity and sociodemographic variables. Results: Twenty-seven percent (95% confidence interval, 24.6–30.0) of children met integrated guidelines; 98% (96.2–98.0) met PA, 78% (75.4–80.0) met sleep, and 35% (32.6–38.0) met ST guidelines. Females (adjusted odds ratio = 1.40 [95% confidence interval, 1.03–1.91]) and those living in lower-middle-income jurisdictions (2.29 [1.49–3.54]) were more likely to meet ST guidelines. Overweight children (0.62 [0.40–0.96]), those aged 8 years (0.39 [0.22–0.69]), and children with caregivers of an education level of high school or beyond (0.44 [0.29–0.68]) were less likely to achieve ST guidelines. Children from midrange annual household incomes were less likely to meet combined guidelines (0.60 [0.39–0.92]). Conclusions: Three-quarters of children are not meeting integrated Asia-Pacific 24-hour movement guidelines. Future strategies for reducing ST and increasing integrated guidelines compliance are needed.
Follow the Arrows: Using a Co-Created Causal Loop Diagram to Explore Leverage Points to Strengthen Population Physical Activity Promotion in British Columbia, Canada
Lori Baugh Littlejohns, Geoffrey McKee, Drona Rasali, Daniel Naiman, Jennafer Mee, Tanya Osborne, Phuc Dang, Meghan Winters, Scott A. Lear, Diane Nelson, Steve McGinley, and Guy Faulkner
Background: Population physical activity promotion (PPAP) is one of the most effective noncommunicable disease prevention strategies, yet coordination is lacking around the world. Whole-of-system approaches and complex systems methods are called for to advance PPAP. This paper reports on a project which (1) used an Attributes Framework with system mapping (group model building and causal loop diagramming of feedback loops) and (2) identified potential leverage points to address the challenge of effective coordination of multisectoral PPAP in British Columbia. Methods: Key findings from stakeholder interviews and workshops described the current system for PPAP in terms of attributes and dimensions in the framework. These were translated into variables and used in group model building. Participants prioritized the importance of variables to address the coordination challenge and then created causal loop diagrams in 3 small groups. One collective causal loop diagram was created, and top priority variables and associated feedback loops were highlighted to explore potential leverage points. Results: Leverage points included the relationships and feedback loops among priority variables: political leadership, visible policy support and governance, connectivity for knowledge translation, collaborative multisector grants, multisector collaboration, and integrating co-benefits. Leveraging and altering “vicious” cyclical patterns to increase coordinated multisector PPAP are key. Conclusions: The Attributes Framework, group model building and causal loop diagrams, and emergent feedback loops were useful to explore potential leverage points to address the challenge of multisectoral coordination of PPAP. Future research could apply the same methods in other jurisdictions and compare and contrast resultant frameworks, variables, feedback loops, and leverage points.
Is Scotland Walking in the Right Direction? A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Trends in Walking by Socioeconomic Status
Tessa Strain, Paul Kelly, Rona Gibb, Mary Allison, Nanette Mutrie, and Marie Murphy
Background: Walking is a key target behavior for promoting population health. This paper charts the 30-year history of walking policy in Scotland. We assess whether population walking levels among adults in Scotland have changed in recent years and identify the characteristics of those least likely to report any walking. Methods: We pooled 9 years (2012–2019 and 2021) of data from adult (≥16 y) respondents of the Scottish Health Survey (n = 41,470). The outcomes of interest were the percentage reporting (1) any walking and (2) any walking with an average pace that is of at least moderate intensity. We also investigated the contribution of walking to total nonoccupational moderate to vigorous physical activity. We used linear and logistic regressions to test linear trends over time and to identify inequalities by age, sex, and the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintile. Results: There was an increase in all measures of walking over the period 2012–2021; for example, the percentage reporting any walking increased by 7 percentage points (81.4%–88.4%). Inequalities still exist by age, sex, and the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation but have not grown over time. Inequalities by sex and age are most pronounced in the least affluent Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintiles; less affluent older women are least likely to report any walking. Conclusions: Scotland appears to be walking in the right direction. Surveillance data support a positive trend after decades of policy and promotion efforts. The policies do not appear to be exacerbating existing inequalities, but narrowing them will require more concentrated efforts.
Is It Possible to Decolonize the Field of Physical Activity and Health?
Alan G. Knuth, Giulia Salaberry Leite, Sueyla Ferreira da Silva dos Santos, and Inácio Crochemore-Silva
Is it possible to decolonize the field of physical activity and health? Decoloniality presupposes a body-geopolitical location, such as in the Brazilian and Latin American context, where it is crucial to use social identity lenses related to race, gender, sexuality, and other social markers that affect the body. Understanding health and physical activity from a decolonial perspective would bring the oppressions that connect capitalism, patriarchy, and racism to the center of the discussion. For a “physical activity other,” we challenged the general recommendation of physical activity in the 4 domains. Physical activity should be understood as an end in itself, as a right, and as human development. Approaches that advocate physical activity at work, at home, and while commuting use other human activities to relate these domains to health without considering the inequalities and oppressions that constitute them in most parts of the world. Is it fair to apply “global recommendations” for physical activity to scenarios such as Brazil and Latin America, using models that are inappropriate to the context and history of these places, people, and cultures? Perhaps it is time to socially reorient and reposition physical activity from a decolonial perspective. We need Black, Indigenous, Latino, African, and other people from the Global South to move the research agenda, recommendations, and policies on physical activity from “any” health to a fair health.
Physical Activity at Different Life Stages and Its Consequence on the Initial Immunization and Inflammatory Response Against COVID-19
Priscila Almeida Queiroz Rossi, Regis Gomes, Teresa Cristina do Nascimento Salazar, Esmeralda Maria Lustosa Barros, Silvia Vasconcelos, Adalberto Socorro da Silva, Ester Miranda Pereira, Vitoria Braga Melo, Marcela Helena Gambin Fonseca, Clarissa Romero Teixeira, Gilvan Pessoa Furtado, Larissa Queiroz Pontes, Ricardo Khouri, Beatriz Vasconcelos, Sandro Soares de Almeida, Guilherme Loureiro Werneck, Fabrício Eduardo Rossi, and Marcos Antonio Pereira dos Santos
Background: To evaluate the influence of previous physical activity (PA) during childhood, adolescence, and current PA practice on the production of antibodies and inflammatory response between the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: Fifty-nine men and 56 women were evaluated before the first vaccine, and 12 weeks later, blood samples were taken to quantify production of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 immunoglobulin G antibodies and cytokines. Previous PA during childhood and adolescence was self-referred, and current PA was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results: A positive and significant association was observed only between PA practice during adolescence and an increase in antibody production in adulthood (β = 2012.077, 95% confidence interval, 257.7953–3766.358, P = .025). Individuals who practiced PA during adolescence showed higher production of antibodies between the first and second vaccine dose compared to nonpractitioners (P = .025) and those that accumulated ≥150 minutes per week of current moderate–vigorous PA (MVPA), and presented higher antibody production in relation to who did <150 minutes per week of MVPA (P = .046). Individuals that were practitioners during childhood produced higher G-CSF (P = .047), and those that accumulated ≥150 minutes per week of current MVPA demonstrated lower IP-10 levels (P = .033). However, PA practitioners during adolescence presented higher G-CSF (P = .025), IL-17 (P = .038), IL-1RA (P = .005), IL-1β (P = .020), and IL-2 (P = .026) levels. Conclusion: Our results suggest that adults that accumulated at least 150 minutes of MVPA per week or practiced PA during adolescence developed an improved immune and inflammatory response against COVID-19 vaccination.
