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Reference values for wrist-worn accelerometer physical activity metrics in England children and adolescents
Stuart J Fairclough1, Alex V Rowlands2,3, Borja Del Pozo Cruz4,5,6
1Movement Behaviours, Nutrition, Health, & Wellbeing Research Group, and Department of Sport & Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK.
Summary
This study provides age- and sex-specific physical activity reference values for English youth using accelerometer metrics like ENMO and MAD. Boys exhibited higher activity levels than girls, with activity decreasing in older age groups.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physical activity assessment
- Biomedical data analysis
- Public health research
Background:
- Increasing use of raw acceleration metrics (e.g., ENMO, MAD) to assess physical activity in youth.
- Limited comparative data exists for these metrics across different age and sex groups.
- Need for age- and sex-specific reference values for physical activity assessment in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish age- and sex-specific reference percentile values for physical activity metrics in English youth.
- To compare physical activity volume and intensity profiles across different age and sex groups.
- To provide a foundation for health-related physical activity research and promotion.
Main Methods:
- Pooled wrist-worn accelerometer data from 10 studies (N=1250) of youth aged 5-15 years.
- Calculated physical activity volume (average acceleration), intensity distribution (intensity gradient), and MX metrics.
- Generated sex-specific percentile curves using Generalized Additive Models and examined age/sex differences with linear mixed models.
Main Results:
- Physical activity peaked between 6.5-10.5 years, varying by metric.
- Boys showed higher activity levels than girls (p < .001).
- Activity was lowest in the oldest age group (Y8&9) compared to the youngest (Y1&2) (p < .001).
Conclusions:
- Developed percentile reference values for key physical activity metrics in youth.
- Highlighted significant age and sex differences in physical activity patterns.
- Emphasized the need for nationally representative population-referenced norms for wrist-acceleration metrics in youth.
