Original Article
Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Among Schoolchildren: A 34-Country Comparison

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2010.01.019Get rights and content

Objective

To describe and compare levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior in schoolchildren from 34 countries across 5 WHO Regions.

Study design

The analysis included 72,845 schoolchildren from 34 countries that participated in the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) and conducted data collection between 2003 and 2007. The questionnaire included questions on overall physical activity, walking, or biking to school, and on time spent sitting.

Results

Very few students engaged in sufficient physical activity. Across all countries, 23.8% of boys and 15.4% of girls met recommendations, with the lowest prevalence in Philippines and Zambia (both 8.8%) and the highest in India (37.5%). The prevalence of walking or riding a bicycle to school ranged from 18.6% in United Arab Emirates to 84.8% in China. In more than half of the countries, more than one third of the students spent 3 or more hours per day on sedentary activities, excluding the hours spent sitting at school and doing homework.

Conclusions

The great majority of students did not meet physical activity recommendations. Additionally, levels of sedentariness were high. These findings require immediate action, and efforts should be made worldwide to increase levels of physical activity among schoolchildren.

Section snippets

Methods

The Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) was designed to assess health behaviors among 13- to 15-year-old schoolchildren. This self-administered survey was developed in 2001 by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with United Nations Childrens Fund, United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS, and with technical and financial assistance from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Results

The response rate across countries was 83.7%. The analytical sample size ranged from 792 (Saint Lucia) to 9,916 (United Arab Emirates). The percentage of 13- to 15-year-old respondents with valid information was relatively high for most countries, and only for Kenya and Zambia was this percentage below 80% (Table I).

The percentage of boys in the final sample ranged from 40.3% (Philippines) to 60.2% (Senegal). Mean age was lowest for the sample from Egypt (13.5 years) and highest for the samples

Discussion

Overall, only 23.8% of boys and 15.4% of girls in our sample met physical activity recommendations. Variations of physical activity levels across countries within regions were similar for all regions. The Health Behavior in school-aged children (HBSC) study, another international survey, has been undertaken in 41 countries across Europe and North America and used the same questions for the assessment of physical activity. Results from 2005/2006 showed a similar variability and prevalence of

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    The authors declare no conflict of interest. The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the WHO or the CDC.

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