Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To map the pattern of involvement in physical activities by adolescents at ages 15 and 18 years. METHODS: Data from a longitudinal cohort study were used. Participants in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study provided information about their sporting and similar physical activities during the 12 months before study assessments at ages 15 and 18 years. RESULTS: Total participation time at age 18 was 63% of that reported at age 15. Mean participation time for girls decreased from 7.5 hours a week to 4.3 hours a week (p<0.001) whereas for boys it decreased from 11.7 hours a week to 7.8 hours a week (p<0.001). At both ages, boys spent significantly more time in physical activity than girls. More time in physical activity at age 18 was reported by participants who judged their fitness higher than their peers (odds ratio (OR) 1.7: 1.2, 2.5), those who played sport for their school (OR 1.8: 1.3, 2.4), and those reporting very good self assessed health (OR 1.4: 1.0, 1.8) at age 15. The overall median number of activities decreased from seven at age 15 to three at 18. Boys were involved in more activities at age 15 but there was no sex difference at age 18 in the number of different activities reported. CONCLUSION: Although involvement in school sporting activities and high levels of fitness in mid-adolescence may protect against marked reductions in physical activity in late adolescence, social and organisational factors are also likely to be important. There is a need for innovative approaches to health promotion which will encourage adolescents to maintain higher levels of physical activity after they leave school.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (116.8 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Brunswick A. F. Health needs of adolescents: how the adolescent sees them. Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1969 Sep;59(9):1730–1745. doi: 10.2105/ajph.59.9.1730. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dishman R. K., Sallis J. F., Orenstein D. R. The determinants of physical activity and exercise. Public Health Rep. 1985 Mar-Apr;100(2):158–171. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Donovan J. E., Jessor R., Costa F. M. Structure of health-enhancing behavior in adolescence: a latent-variable approach. J Health Soc Behav. 1993 Dec;34(4):346–362. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Friedenreich C. M., Rohan T. E. A review of physical activity and breast cancer. Epidemiology. 1995 May;6(3):311–317. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199505000-00021. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Greendale G. A., Barrett-Connor E., Edelstein S., Ingles S., Haile R. Lifetime leisure exercise and osteoporosis. The Rancho Bernardo study. Am J Epidemiol. 1995 May 15;141(10):951–959. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117362. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Helmrich S. P., Ragland D. R., Paffenbarger R. S., Jr Prevention of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus with physical activity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1994 Jul;26(7):824–830. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jones T. F., Eaton C. B. Cost-benefit analysis of walking to prevent coronary heart disease. Arch Fam Med. 1994 Aug;3(8):703–710. doi: 10.1001/archfami.3.8.703. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Keays J. J., Allison K. R. The effects of regular moderate to vigorous physical activity on student outcomes: a review. Can J Public Health. 1995 Jan-Feb;86(1):62–65. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Macfarlane G. J., Lowenfels A. B. Physical activity and colon cancer. Eur J Cancer Prev. 1994 Sep;3(5):393–398. doi: 10.1097/00008469-199409000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mackenbach J. P., van de Mheen H., Stronks K. A prospective cohort study investigating the explanation of socio-economic inequalities in health in The Netherlands. Soc Sci Med. 1994 Jan;38(2):299–308. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(94)90399-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Reeder A. I., Stanton W. R., Langley J. D., Chalmers D. J. Adolescents' sporting and leisure time physical activities during their 15th year. Can J Sport Sci. 1991 Dec;16(4):308–315. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shephard R. J., Shek P. N. Cancer, immune function, and physical activity. Can J Appl Physiol. 1995 Mar;20(1):1–25. doi: 10.1139/h95-001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Silva P. A. The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study: a 15 year longitudinal study. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 1990 Jan;4(1):76–107. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3016.1990.tb00621.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stephens T., Jacobs D. R., Jr, White C. C. A descriptive epidemiology of leisure-time physical activity. Public Health Rep. 1985 Mar-Apr;100(2):147–158. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sweeting H. Reversals of fortune? Sex differences in health in childhood and adolescence. Soc Sci Med. 1995 Jan;40(1):77–90. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(94)e0059-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Taylor H. L., Jacobs D. R., Jr, Schucker B., Knudsen J., Leon A. S., Debacker G. A questionnaire for the assessment of leisure time physical activities. J Chronic Dis. 1978;31(12):741–755. doi: 10.1016/0021-9681(78)90058-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Weyerer S., Kupfer B. Physical exercise and psychological health. Sports Med. 1994 Feb;17(2):108–116. doi: 10.2165/00007256-199417020-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- van der Lucht F., Groothoff J. Social inequalities and health among children aged 10-11 in The Netherlands: causes and consequences. Soc Sci Med. 1995 May;40(9):1305–1311. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(94)00185-v. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]