PHYSICAL AND SEDENTARY ACTIVITY IN SCHOOL-CHILDREN GRADES 5-8 - THE BOGALUSA HEART-STUDY

Physical and sedentary activity in children and adolescents has immedi ate health benefits and can also set a pattern that carries over into adulthood, resulting in long-term health benefits. Activity levels in a free-living biracial sample of children and adolescents, ages 9-15 y r (N = 995), were examined using a 24-h recall instrument, the Self-Ad ministered Physical Activity Checklist. Selected sedentary activities (television watching and video-/computer-game playing) were also asses sed. Overall, boys were more physically active than girls and engaged in more heavy physical activity, while girls reported a larger percent age of time spent in light and moderate physical activities. Gender an d, to a lesser extent, ethnic differences were seen in the types of ac tivities reported. Although most physical activity occurred after scho ol, children who reported no physical education class during school ha d less physical activity overall. There was a decrease in moderate phy sical activity with increasing grade levels in school and an increase in sedentary behavior. Black children reported more sedentary activity than white children, and girls reported more than boys. Although this 24-h recall method has limitations, it allows characterization of the activity of groups of children and provides useful data for policy re commendations.