Levels and Patterns of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour of Primary School Learners in Lagos State, Nigeria
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2022
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Abstract
Background: Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) assessment in children is
critical for the prevention of noncommunicable diseases. African studies examining PA and SB of
primary school-age children are few. This study investigated PA, SB levels and their correlates among
primary school children in Lagos, Nigeria. Method: In a cross-sectional study of 733 learners, their
self-reported PA and SB were assessed using the Children PA Questionnaire (CPAQ) (6–9 years age
category) and Youth Activity Profile (YAP) (10–12 years age category) while pedometers were used
for objective PA and SB assessment, and socioeconomic status (SES) index were measured using a
structured questionnaire. Standardised procedures were used for anthropometric and cardiovascular
measures. Results Based on CPAQ, 87.5% and 100% of the learners aged 6–9 years met the recommended PA and SB guidelines, respectively which were lower with pedometers (72.8% and 87.3%).
The proportion of boys aged 6–9 years who met the guidelines for PA and SB (using pedometer) was
significantly higher than that of the girls(PA: 80.7% vs. 64%, p = 0.018; SB: 94% vs. 80%, p = 0.008).
Self-reported PA was positively associated with age (CPAQ: B = 455.39, p < 0.001; YAP: B = 1.638,
p = 0.009) and negatively with SES (CPAQ: B = −201.39, p < 0.001; YAP: B = −1.000, p < 0.001). Objective PA was positively associated with waist to hip ratio(WHR) (6–9 years: B = 66090.24, p = 0.032)
and negatively with sex (6–9 years: B = −5533.41, p = 0.027) and hip circumference (10–12 years:
B = −1269.13, p = 0.017). SB was associated with SES in learners aged 10–12 years (B = −0.282,
p = 0.003).Conclusion: High SES is a major predictor of reduced PA among these cohort of learners.