Objective and Subjective Physical Activity Levels in Austrian Middle School Students ()
Affiliation(s)
1Department of Sport Science, Leopold-Franzens-University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
2Division of Sport, Physical Activity and Health, University of Education Upper Austria, Linz, Austria.
3Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
4Division of Physical Education, Private Educational College (KPH-ES), Stams, Austria.
ABSTRACT
Background: Insufficient physical activity is considered a major threat to future
public health as many children and adolescents do not engage in the recommended
amount of physical activity (PA), despite the well-documented health benefits.
The evaluation of ongoing efforts as well as future intervention strategies,
however, requires an accurate assessment of PA. Aim: The present study,
therefore, examined differences between objectively and subjectively determined PA in 36 Austrian
adolescents (52.8% male; 13.5 ± 0.5 years of age). Methods: Time spent
in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and time spent sedentary was assessed with a
wrist-worn accelerometer (GENEActive) that was worn for 7 consecutive days.
Self-reported sleep duration was subtracted from total sedentary time in
order to obtain sedentary time during waking hours. Participants also completed
the short version of the International PA questionnaire (IPAQ) at the end of
the objective measurement, which assesses
time spent in MVPA and sitting time during the previous week. Results: Objective and subjective data showed that adolescents spent the majority of
their time sitting or in sedentary pursuits. Self-reported MVPA was more
than double the amount of the objectively determined time spent in MVPA (p < 0.01). Accordingly, the majority
of adolescents (88.9%) met PA recommendations based on self-report, while only
22.2% were considered sufficiently active when objective PA measurements were
used. There were also significant sex differences with higher MVPA as well as
lower sedentary time in boys compared to girls (p < 0.01). Conclusions: These results highlight the
difficulty to accurately determine PA via questionnaire, which may be
attributed to irregular PA patterns in youth. Accordingly, subjective
measurements may need to be combined with objective methods in order to enhance
the accuracy of PA assessments. The low levels of objectively determined PA,
particularly in girls, further emphasize the need for continued efforts to
ensure an adequate amount of PA in youth.
Share and Cite:
Greier, C. , Drenowatz, C. , Riechelmann, H. and Greier, K. (2021) Objective and Subjective Physical Activity Levels in Austrian Middle School Students.
Advances in Physical Education,
11, 448-459. doi:
10.4236/ape.2021.114037.