File(s) under permanent embargo
Daily weather and children's physical activity patterns
journal contribution
posted on 2017-05-01, 00:00 authored by T Remmers, C Thijs, Anna TimperioAnna Timperio, Jo SalmonJo Salmon, Jenny VeitchJenny Veitch, S P J Kremers, Nicky RidgersNicky RidgersINTRODUCTION: Understanding how the weather affects physical activity (PA) may help in the design, analysis, and interpretation of future studies, especially when investigating PA across diverse meteorological settings and with long follow-up periods. The present longitudinal study first aims to examine the influence of daily weather elements on intraindividual PA patterns among primary school children across four seasons, reflecting day-to-day variation within each season. Second, we investigate whether the influence of weather elements differs by day of the week (weekdays vs weekends), gender, age, and body mass index. METHOD: PA data were collected by ActiGraph accelerometers for 1 wk in each of four school terms that reflect each season in southeast Australia. PA data from 307 children (age range 8.7-12.8 yr) were matched to daily meteorological variables obtained from the Australian Government's Bureau of Meteorology (maximum temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, day length, and rainfall). Daily PA patterns and their association with weather elements were analyzed using multilevel linear mixed models. RESULTS: Temperature was the strongest predictor of moderate and vigorous PA, followed by solar radiation and humidity. The relation with temperature was curvilinear, showing optimum PA levels at temperatures between 20°C and 22°C. Associations between weather elements on PA did not differ by gender, child's age, or body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: This novel study focused on the influence of weather elements on intraindividual PA patterns in children. As weather influences cannot be controlled, knowledge of its effect on individual PA patterns may help in the design of future studies, interpretation of their results, and translation into PA promotion.
History
Journal
Medicine and science in sports and exerciseVolume
49Issue
5Pagination
922 - 929Publisher
Lippincott, Williams & WilkinsLocation
Philadelphia, Pa.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0195-9131eISSN
1530-0315Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2017, American College of Sports MedicineUsage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC