Lee Schaefer1, Ronald C Plotnikoff2, Sumit R Majumdar3, Rebecca Mollard4, Meaghan Woo4, Rashik Sadman4, Randi Lynn Rinaldi5, Normand Boulé5, Brian Torrance6, Geoff D C Ball7, Paul Veugelers8, Paul Wozny9, Linda McCargar10, Shauna Downs11, Richard Lewanczuk4, Douglas Gleddie12, Jonathan McGavock13. 1. Faculty of Education, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 2. Priority Research Center in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. 3. School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 4. Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Manitoba Institute of Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. 5. Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 6. Ever Active Schools, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 7. Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 8. School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 9. Black Gold School District, Alberta, Canada. 10. Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 11. Menzies Center for Health Policy, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. 12. Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 13. Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Manitoba Institute of Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Electronic address: jmcgavock@mich.ca.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether time spent outdoors was associated with increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and related health benefits in youth. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a cross-sectional study of 306 youth aged 13.6 ± 1.4 years. The exposure of interest was self-reported time spent outdoors after school, stratified into three categories: none, some, and most/all of the time. The main outcome of interest was accelerometer-derived MVPA (Actical: 1500 to >6500 counts/min). Secondary outcomes included sedentary behavior, cardiorespiratory fitness, overweight status, and blood pressure. RESULTS: Among the 306 youth studied, those who reported spending most/all of their after-school time outdoors (n = 120) participated in more MVPA (61.0 ± 24.3 vs 39.9 ± 19.1 min/day; adjusted P < .001), were more likely to achieve the recommended minimum 60 min/day of MVPA (aOR 2.8; 95% CI, 1.3-6.4), spent less time in sedentary activities (539 ± 97 min/day vs 610 ± 146 min/day; adjusted P < .001), and had higher cardiorespiratory fitness (49 ± 5 vs 45 ± 6 mL/kg/min; adjusted P < .001) than youth who reported no time outdoors (n = 52). No differences in overweight/obesity or blood pressure were observed across the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Time spent outdoors is positively associated with MVPA and cardiorespiratory fitness in youth and negatively associated with sedentary behavior. Experimental trials are needed to determine whether strategies designed to increase time spent outdoors exert a positive influence on physical activity and fitness levels in youth.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether time spent outdoors was associated with increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and related health benefits in youth. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a cross-sectional study of 306 youth aged 13.6 ± 1.4 years. The exposure of interest was self-reported time spent outdoors after school, stratified into three categories: none, some, and most/all of the time. The main outcome of interest was accelerometer-derived MVPA (Actical: 1500 to >6500 counts/min). Secondary outcomes included sedentary behavior, cardiorespiratory fitness, overweight status, and blood pressure. RESULTS: Among the 306 youth studied, those who reported spending most/all of their after-school time outdoors (n = 120) participated in more MVPA (61.0 ± 24.3 vs 39.9 ± 19.1 min/day; adjusted P < .001), were more likely to achieve the recommended minimum 60 min/day of MVPA (aOR 2.8; 95% CI, 1.3-6.4), spent less time in sedentary activities (539 ± 97 min/day vs 610 ± 146 min/day; adjusted P < .001), and had higher cardiorespiratory fitness (49 ± 5 vs 45 ± 6 mL/kg/min; adjusted P < .001) than youth who reported no time outdoors (n = 52). No differences in overweight/obesity or blood pressure were observed across the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Time spent outdoors is positively associated with MVPA and cardiorespiratory fitness in youth and negatively associated with sedentary behavior. Experimental trials are needed to determine whether strategies designed to increase time spent outdoors exert a positive influence on physical activity and fitness levels in youth.
Authors: Casey Gray; Rebecca Gibbons; Richard Larouche; Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter; Adam Bienenstock; Mariana Brussoni; Guylaine Chabot; Susan Herrington; Ian Janssen; William Pickett; Marlene Power; Nick Stanger; Margaret Sampson; Mark S Tremblay Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2015-06-08 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Allana G LeBlanc; Peter T Katzmarzyk; Tiago V Barreira; Stephanie T Broyles; Jean-Philippe Chaput; Timothy S Church; Mikael Fogelholm; Deirdre M Harrington; Gang Hu; Rebecca Kuriyan; Anura Kurpad; Estelle V Lambert; Carol Maher; José Maia; Victor Matsudo; Timothy Olds; Vincent Onywera; Olga L Sarmiento; Martyn Standage; Catrine Tudor-Locke; Pei Zhao; Mark S Tremblay Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-06-11 Impact factor: 3.240