Physical activity of children and youth.

Originally 2,144 15-year-old-boys and girls from different parts of Sweden participated in this follow-up study concerning physical activity during leisure time. During a ten year period the drop out amounted to 22%. The main objective of the investigation was to describe variations in trend and scope of physical activity in relation to the individual, the background and environmental variables. The attitude towards physical exercise was very positive. The amount of physical activity did not correspond to this attitude for all young people. The average activity declined between the ages of 15 and 20 from 3.3 hours a week to 1.8 among the girls and from 4.8 to 2.6 among the boys. From 20 to 25 years of age there was, however, an increase from 1.8 to 2.2 for the girls and from 2.6 to 2.9 for the boys. Girls chose recreational activities more often than boys did. The choices of activities were related to social background and educational level.