Table 3.

Overview of the UK national surveys that measure compliance with the child MVPA recommendation

Country	Survey	Current questionnaire	Latest prevalence estimate
England	Health Survey for England	7-day recall period with activities reported on specific days Domain specific, including activity at school Asked of all 2–15 years, proxy report up to age 12 Children 2–4 years old analysed separately against the under 5s recommendation	Children 2–4 years old: 9% B: 10% G: 9% Children 5–15 years old: 21% B: 24% G: 18% (2015)27
	Active Lives: Children and Young People Survey	Adaptive recall period 7 days/4 weeks to suit frequency Activities in past week reported on specific days Asked of years 1–11 (approximately 5–15 years) Questionnaire adapted to age of child Supplementary information from parents and teacher questionnaires	Children 5–16 years old: B: 20% G: 14% (2017/2018)68
Northern Ireland	Young Persons’ Behaviour and Attitudes Survey	Single-item question asking how many days in last 7 days undertaken ≥60 min MVPA Also questions to give greater detail on specific activity participation over 7-day/12-month time period Asked of children 11–16 years old	Children 11–16 years old: 13% B: 17% G: 8% (2016)69
	Continuous Household Survey	Single item on time spent in other sport and exercise activities per day Unanchored recall period (‘on average’) Detailed active travel questions not included in prevalence estimate Asked of school children aged 4–19 years, parental proxy report for younger children	Primary school: 39% Post-primary school: 26% (2016/2017)70
Scotland	Scottish Health Survey	7-day recall period, with activities reported on specific days Domain specific, including activity at school Asked of all 2–15 years, parent proxy report for younger children Headline figures reported for children 5–15 years old (and 4-year-olds at school) No reporting on the under 5s recommendation	Children 5–15 years old: 33% B: 36% G: 31% (2017)71
Wales	National Survey for Wales	Duration of any MVPA reported for each day in last 7 days Proxy report for all ages (only asked of those aged 3–7) from parent	Children 3–7 years old: 51% B: 55%, G: 47% (2016–2017)67
England, Scotland, Wales	Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children	Single-item question where respondents report the days in last seven when undertaken ≥60 min MVPA Children 11, 13, 15 years old, school-based survey	15%–19% B: 20%–22% G: 11%–15% (2014)24–26

B, boys; G, girls; MVPA, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.