Abstract
Background
The decline in physical activity during adolescence is a key public health concern. This comparative study assesses whether the age-related decline in physical activity among high school students occurs similarly in the United States (US) and Ontario, whether the decline in physical activity is steady throughout the age range, or whether any declines are age-specific.
Methods
Data are based on self-reports of 9th- to 12th-graders derived from the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n=13,503) and the 2001 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey (n=1,322). Physical activity is measured by the number of days of vigorous physical activity during the past 7 days.
Results
In both samples, there was a dominant and steady decline in physical activity between ages 14 and 18 years. The number of activity days was higher in the US than in Ontario holding constant age and sex. However, a significant sample-by-age interaction showed that the decline in the percentage of US students reporting 3 or more physical activity days was greater than it was in Ontario.
Conclusions
While the pattern of decline was shown to be similar, the decline was stronger among US adolescents. Future research should examine additional factors influencing the decline in activity and the optimal timing of programs to reduce the decline.
MeSH terms: Adolescent behaviour, exercise, comparative study
Résumé
Contexte
La diminution de l’activité physique pendant l’adolescence est un problème de santé publique fondamental. Par cette étude comparative, nous avons cherché à déterminer si la diminution liée à l’âge dans les niveaux d’activité physique des élèves du secondaire est semblable aux États-Unis et en Ontario, et si la diminution de l’activité physique est soutenue dans toute la plage d’âge ou si certaines diminutions surviennent à certains âges.
Méthode
Nos données proviennent des déclarations d’élèves de la 9e à la 12e année tirées de l’enquête états-unienne Youth Risk Behavior Survey de 2001 (n=13 503) et du Sondage sur la consommation de drogues parmi les élèves de l’Ontario de 2001 (n=1 322). L’activité physique est calculée selon le nombre de jours où l’on a pratiqué une activité physique vigoureuse au cours des sept jours précédents.
Résultats
Dans les deux échantillons, on observe une diminution prédominante et soutenue de l’activité physique entre 14 et 18 ans. Le nombre de jours d’activité était plus élevé aux É.-U. qu’en Ontario, en tenant compte de l’âge et du sexe. Cependant, une interaction significative selon l’âge montre que la diminution du pourcentage d’élèves états-uniens ayant pratiqué trois jours d’activité physique ou plus était plus importante qu’en Ontario.
Conclusion
La tendance générale à la baisse était semblable, mais la diminution était plus prononcée chez les adolescents états-uniens. Les études futures devraient porter sur les autres facteurs qui influencent la diminution de l’activité physique et sur l’âge optimal auquel il faudrait offrir des programmes pour contrer cette diminution.
Footnotes
Acknowledgements: This research is supported by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario (HBR4860). The Ontario Student Drug Use Survey is sponsored by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario.
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