Dataset Information

How active are our children? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To describe levels of physical activity, sedentary time and adherence to Chief Medical Officers (CMO) physical activity guidelines among primary school-aged children across the UK using objective accelerometer-based measurements.

Design

Nationally representative prospective cohort study.

Setting

Children born across the UK, between 2000 and 2002.

Participants

6497 7-year-old to 8-year-old singleton children for whom reliable accelerometer data were available for at least 10 h a day for at least 2 days.

Main outcome measures

Physical activity in counts per minute (cpm); time spent in sedentary and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA); proportion of children meeting CMO guidelines (≥60 min/day MVPA); average daily steps.

Explanatory measures

Gender, ethnicity, maternal current/most recent occupation, lone parenthood status, number of children in the household and country/region of residence.

Results

The median daily physical activity level was 595 cpm (IQR 507, 697). Children spent a median of 60 min (IQR 47-76) in MVPA/day and were sedentary for a median of 6.4 h/day (IQR 6-7). Only 51% met CMO guidelines, with girls (38%) less active than boys (63%). Children took an average of 10 229 (95% CI (8777 to 11 775)) steps each day. Children of Indian ethnicity were significantly less active overall than all other ethnic groups. Children of Bangladeshi origin and those living in Northern Ireland were least likely to meet CMO guidelines.

Conclusions

Only half of 7-year-old children in the UK achieve recommended levels of physical activity, with significant gender, ethnic and geographic variations. Longitudinal studies are needed to better understand the relevance of these (in)activity patterns for long-term health and well-being. In the meantime population-wide efforts to boost physical activity among young people are needed which are likely to require a broad range of policy interventions.

SUBMITTER: Griffiths LJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3752053 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

How active are our children? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study.

Griffiths Lucy J LJ Cortina-Borja Mario M Sera Francesco F Pouliou Theodora T Pouliou Theodora T Geraci Marco M Rich Carly C Cole Tim J TJ Law Catherine C Joshi Heather H Ness Andrew R AR Jebb Susan A SA Dezateux Carol C

BMJ open 20130821 8

<h4>Objective</h4>To describe levels of physical activity, sedentary time and adherence to Chief Medical Officers (CMO) physical activity guidelines among primary school-aged children across the UK using objective accelerometer-based measurements.<h4>Design</h4>Nationally representative prospective cohort study.<h4>Setting</h4>Children born across the UK, between 2000 and 2002.<h4>Participants</h4>6497 7-year-old to 8-year-old singleton children for whom reliable accelerometer data were availabl ...[more]

PMID: 23965931

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThinness during adolescence can increase the risk of adverse health outcomes across the life-course and impede development. There is limited research examining the prevalence and determinants of persistent adolescent thinness in the United Kingdom (UK). We used longitudinal cohort data to investigate determinants of persistent adolescent thinness.MethodsWe analyzed data from 7,740 participants in the UK Millennium Cohort Study at ages 9 months, 7, 11, 14 and 17 years. Persistent thinness was defined as thinness at ages 11, 14 and 17; thinness was defined as an age- and sex-adjusted Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 18.5 kg/m2. In total, 4,036 participants, classified either as persistently thin or at a persistent healthy weight, were included in the analyses. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between 16 risk factors and persistent adolescent thinness by sex.ResultsThe prevalence of persistent thinness among adolescents was 3.1% (n = 231). Among males (n = 115), persistent adolescent thinness was significantly associated with non-white ethnicity, low parental BMI, low birthweight, low breastfeeding duration, unintended pregnancy, and low maternal education. Among females (n = 116), persistent adolescent thinness was significantly associated with non-white ethnicity, low birthweight, low self-esteem, and low physical activity. However, after adjusting for all risk factors, only low maternal BMI (OR: 3.44; 95% CI:1.13, 10.5), low paternal BMI (OR: 22.2; 95% CI: 2.35, 209.6), unintended pregnancy (OR: 2.49; 95% CI: 1.11, 5.57) and low self-esteem (OR: 6.57; 95% CI: 1.46,29.7) remained significantly associated with persistent adolescent thinness among males. After adjustment for all risk factors, not reaching the recommended physical activity levels (OR: 4.22; 95% CI: 1.82, 9.75) remained significantly associated with persistent adolescent thinness among females. No appreciable associations were found between persistent adolescent thinness and sex, premature birth, smoking during pregnancy, income, maternal postnatal depression, mother-infant attachment or socio-emotional difficulties (p > 0.05).ConclusionPersistent adolescent thinness is not rare and appears to be associated with both physical and mental health factors, with some sex specific differences. Healthy weight initiatives should consider the full weight spectrum. Further research is required to understand thinness at a population level, including among those whose BMI changes during child and adolescent development.

Dataset Information

How active are our children? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study.

Objective

Design

Setting

Participants

Main outcome measures

Explanatory measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

How active are our children? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets