@article{ref1,
title="Does it fit better? Measures of physical activity among adolescents in relation to health indicators",
journal="European journal of public health",
year="2022",
author="Karchynskaya, Viktoryia and Kopcakova, Jaroslava and Madarasova Geckova, Andrea and de Winter, Andrea F. and Reijneveld, Sijmen A.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Measuring physical activity (PA) is one of the pillars of successful health promotion; however, we struggle to find a tool enabling the identification of risk groups. The current standard approach of assessing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) every day does this inadequately. The aim of this study is to explore whether three other indicators of adolescents' PA can identify such risk groups in a better way. <br><br>METHODS: We used data on 888 11- to 15-year-old adolescents (mean age = 13.5, 56% boys) from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study conducted in 2018 in Slovakia. Sufficient PA was indicated by the following four indicators: (i) MVPA every day, (ii) MVPA 5-7 days a week, (iii) engagement in organized sports (team or individual) and (iv) combining MVPA 5-7 days a week and engagement in organized sports. We used binary logistic regression analysis to assess the association of various indicators of adolescents' PA with body composition, cardiovascular fitness and self-rated health (SRH), considering age and gender. <br><br>RESULTS: Being active based on various indicators was associated with better health outcomes, with the strongest associations for the indicator combining MVPA 5-7 days a week and engagement in organized sports. The only exceptions were the non-significant associations of active adolescents (being active 5-7 days per week or engaged in organized sports) with cardiovascular fitness and SRH. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Measuring PA using an indicator that combines MVPA 5-7 days a week and engagement in organized sports is the most valid using three health indicators as criteria.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1101-1262",
doi="10.1093/eurpub/ckac138",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckac138"
}