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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Socioeconomic position during childhood and physical activity during adulthood: a systematic review
C E Juneau1, T Benmarhnia2, A A Poulin2
1École de Santé Publique, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Succursale Centre-ville, C.P. 6128, Montreal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada. carl-etienne.juneau@umontreal.ca.
Objectives:
A growing body of evidence links socioeconomic position early in life and physical activity during adulthood. This systematic review aimed to summarize this evidence.
Methods:
Medline and EMBASE were searched for studies that assessed socioeconomic position before age 18 years and physical activity at age ≥18 years. Studies were rated according to three key methodological quality criteria: (1) was childhood socioeconomic position assessed prospectively? (2) Was socioeconomic position during adulthood included in the statistical analysis? (3) Was a validated instrument used to measure of physical activity?
Results:
Forty-two publications were included. Twenty-six (61.9 %) found a significant association between socioeconomic position early in life and physical activity during adulthood. Twenty-one studies met at least two methodological quality criteria. Among those, the proportion was higher: 15/21 (71.4 %). Associations were of weak to moderate strength, positive for physical activity during leisure time, and negative for transports and work.
Conclusions:
The bulk of the evidence supports the notion that there is a life course association between socioeconomic position early in life and physical activity during adulthood. Studies using more rigorous methodology supported this conclusion more consistently.
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