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Age and gender differences in youth physical activity: does physical maturity matter?
Lauren B Sherar1, Dale W Esliger, Adam D G Baxter-Jones
1College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. lauren.sherar@usask.ca
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|May 1, 2007
Summary
Physical activity declines with age in children. Gender differences in physical activity disappear when accounting for biological maturity, not just chronological age.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Exercise Science
- Human Growth and Development
- Public Health
Background:
- Objective measurement of physical activity (PA) in children is crucial for understanding health behaviors.
- Observed gender differences in children's PA may be influenced by developmental factors beyond chronological age.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if physical maturity confounds observed gender differences in objectively measured physical activity (PA) among children aged 8-13 years.
- To differentiate the impact of chronological age versus biological age on PA levels and gender disparities.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Actigraph accelerometers to collect seven-day PA data from 401 children (194 boys, 207 girls).
- Calculated minutes of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), continuous MVPA (CMVPA), and vigorous PA (VPA) per day.
- Predicted age at peak height velocity (APHV) as a measure of somatic maturity and analyzed PA using two-way ANOVA (gender x age).
Main Results:
- Physical activity levels decreased with increasing chronological age in both genders.
- Boys exhibited higher MVPA, CMVPA, and VPA than girls at specific chronological age ranges.
- When analyzed by biological age, PA declined with maturity, but gender differences in PA became non-significant.
Conclusions:
- The age-related decline in adolescent physical activity contradicts public health objectives.
- Physical maturity is a critical confounding factor that must be considered when examining gender disparities in children's physical activity.
- Accounting for biological age provides a clearer understanding of gender differences in physical activity patterns.
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