In this study, P.R. Nader and colleagues investigate physical activity patterns in youth from 9 to 15 years of age. The authors collected physical activity data using accelerometers for 1,032 youth over a 6-year period (starting when the children were 9 years old), as well as height, weight, and demographic information. Nader and colleagues were particularly interested in the amount of time youth engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as experts currently recommend that youth engage in at least 60 minutes per day of MVPA. In analyzing the data, the authors found that youth spent significantly less time engaged in MVPA as they got older. For example, at 9 years of age, youth engaged in MVPA for about 3 hours a day on weekdays and weekends, whereas at 15 years of age, adolescents engaged in MVPA for 49 minutes a day on weekdays and 35 minutes a day on weekends. Consequently, the percentage of children who met the recommended activity guidelines of 60 minutes of MVPA per day decreased significantly with age. While almost all 9- and 11-year-old children met the guidelines, only 31% of 15 year-olds met the guidelines on weekdays and only 17% of 15 year olds met the guidelines on weekends. Nader and colleagues found that boys tended to be more active than girls and that girls fell below the recommended activity guidelines at a younger age than boys (13.1 years versus 14.7 for weekdays and 12.6 years versus 13.4 for the weekends). The authors conclude by discussing study limitations and future research needs, including investigation into the amount of MVPA needed to positively impact child health and the environmental factors that impact MVPA.
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