Department of Exercise, Nutrition & Health Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, UK.
Prev Med. 2010 Sep-Oct;51(3-4):282-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2010.06.009. Epub 2010 Jun 22.
The school-setting is a potentially important environment for influencing children's physical activity. However limited research has focused on whether children's school-time physical activity is associated with the school they attend. This paper investigates the school effect on children's physical activity.
Participants were 1307 pupils aged 10-11 years recruited from 23 primary schools in Bristol, UK during 2006-2008. Multilevel modelling (MLM) (MLwin 2.02) was used to asses between school differences in children's physical activity, measured using accelerometry (ActiGraph GT1M), adjusting for both individual and school variables.
A significant school effect (p=0.001) was found accounting for 14.5% of the total variance in physical activity. Boys were significantly more active than girls (p<0.001), and the school attended accounted for a greater proportion of variance in boys' physical activity than girls' (23.4% vs. 12.2%). Seasonal variation and economic deprivation of the school neighbourhood were both significantly associated with children's school-time activity.
This paper highlights a significant school effect on children's physical activity providing evidence that the school attended should be accounted for in future analysis and supporting the use of MLM in this field. Further investigation is required to explain the differences in physical activity found between schools.
学校环境是影响儿童身体活动的一个潜在重要环境。然而，很少有研究关注儿童的在校时间身体活动是否与他们所就读的学校有关。本文旨在探讨学校对儿童身体活动的影响。
参与者为 2006 年至 2008 年间，来自英国布里斯托尔 23 所小学的 1307 名 10-11 岁儿童。采用多层次模型（MLM）（MLwin 2.02），通过加速度计（ActiGraph GT1M）测量，调整个体和学校变量，评估儿童身体活动的学校间差异。
发现了显著的学校效应（p=0.001），占身体活动总方差的 14.5%。男孩的身体活动明显多于女孩（p<0.001），且学校对男孩身体活动的方差解释比例大于女孩（23.4%比 12.2%）。学校所在社区的季节性变化和经济贫困程度都与儿童在校时间的活动显著相关。
本文强调了学校对儿童身体活动的显著影响，为未来分析应考虑所就读学校提供了证据，并支持在该领域使用 MLM。需要进一步调查以解释学校间身体活动差异的原因。
