Bürgi Rahel, Tomatis Laura, Murer Kurt, de Bruin Eling D
Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
PLoS One. 2015 Nov 4;10(11):e0142223. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142223. eCollection 2015.
Ecological approaches have highlighted the importance of the built environment as a factor affecting physical activity. However, knowledge on children's activity patterns is still incomplete. Particularly, data on the spatial context of physical activity is limited, which limits the potential to design location-based interventions effectively. Using global positioning system (GPS) and accelerometry, this study aimed to identify locations where children engage in moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
Participants included 119 children (11-14 years, 57% girls) from public schools in Winterthur, Switzerland. During a regular school week between February and April 2013, children wore an accelerometer and GPS sensor for seven consecutive days. Time-matched accelerometer and GPS data was mapped with a geographic information system and each data point was assigned to one of seven defined activity settings. Both the absolute amount of MVPA and proportion of time in MVPA were calculated for every setting. Multilevel analyses accounting for the hierarchical structure of the data were conducted to investigate any gender differences.
Children achieved most MVPA on streets (34.5%) and on school grounds (33.4%). The proportion children spent in MVPA was highest in recreational facilities (19.4%), at other schools (19.2%) and on streets (18.6%). Boys accumulated significantly more MVPA overall and on other school grounds (p < 0.05) and showed a significantly higher proportion of time in MVPA at own school and outside of Winterthur (p < 0.05).
The results indicate the importance of streets and school grounds as activity-promoting environments. The high use of streets may be an indicator for active transportation, which appears to contribute to an active lifestyle in both genders. In contrast, the school setting is more likely to encourage physical activity in boys. Recreational facilities seem to be conducive for MVPA among both genders, although infrequently visited during the week of measurement.
生态学方法强调了建筑环境作为影响身体活动的一个因素的重要性。然而，关于儿童活动模式的知识仍然不完整。特别是，关于身体活动空间背景的数据有限，这限制了有效设计基于位置的干预措施的潜力。本研究使用全球定位系统（GPS）和加速度计，旨在确定儿童进行中等至剧烈身体活动（MVPA）的地点。
参与者包括来自瑞士温特图尔公立学校的119名儿童（11 - 14岁，57%为女孩）。在2013年2月至4月的一个正常上学周期间，儿童连续七天佩戴加速度计和GPS传感器。将时间匹配的加速度计和GPS数据与地理信息系统进行映射，并将每个数据点分配到七个定义的活动环境之一。计算每个环境中MVPA的绝对量和MVPA时间的比例。进行考虑数据层次结构的多水平分析以调查任何性别差异。
儿童在街道上（34.5%）和学校场地（33.4%）进行的MVPA最多。儿童在娱乐设施（19.4%）、其他学校（19.2%）和街道上（18.6%）花费在MVPA上的比例最高。男孩总体上和在其他学校场地积累的MVPA显著更多（p < 0.05），并且在自己学校和温特图尔以外地区在MVPA中花费的时间比例显著更高（p < 0.05）。
结果表明街道和学校场地作为促进活动的环境的重要性。街道的高使用率可能是积极交通的一个指标，这似乎有助于男女形成积极的生活方式。相比之下，学校环境似乎更有可能鼓励男孩进行身体活动。娱乐设施似乎有利于男女双方进行MVPA，尽管在测量周期间很少被光顾。
