[Association between socioeconomic status and physical activities in Chinese children]

To study the daily physical activity patterns of pupils in Beijing, and to identify the association between the socioeconomic status (SES) and physical activities.

1502 pupils were recruited from 2 - 5 grades of eight primary schools in Beijing. Information on physical activity, sedentary activity, and transportation styles inside and outside schools were collected using a "7-day physical activity questionnaire".

Gymnastics, running, playing games, walking in queues etc. were the most common activities at school, with the proportion as 94.13%, 85.55%, 77.26%, and 71.32% respectively. Physical labor, playing games, running and walking were the common activities outside schools, with the proportion as 72.14%, 69.70%, 65.05%, and 64.64% respectively. However, pupils seldom participated in the ball games. Significant differences between SES groups were observed on the patterns of both physical and sedentary activities. Compared to low-SES pupils, high-SES pupils more frequently participated in dancing, walking upstairs or downstairs, swimming, skating, but less frequently (P < 0.05) in walking, rope skipping, kicking shuttlecock or rubber band skipping.

Data from our study showed that both the quantity and the distribution of different activities did not meet the need of the Chinese children. Physical activity in association with SES was also demonstrated.