BackgroundPhysical activity and sedentary behaviour in youth have been reported to vary by sex, age, weight status and country. However, supporting data are often self-reported and/or do not encompass a wide range of ages or geographical locations. This study aimed to describe objectively-measured physical activity and sedentary time patterns in youth.MethodsThe International Children’s Accelerometry Database (ICAD) consists of ActiGraph accelerometer data from 20 studies in ten countries, processed using common data reduction procedures. Analyses were conducted on 27,637 participants (2.8–18.4 years) who provided at least three days of valid accelerometer data. Linear regression was used to examine associations between age, sex, weight status, country and physical activity outcomes.ResultsBoys were less sedentary and more active than girls at all ages. After 5 years of age there was an average cross-sectional decrease of 4.2 % in total physical activity with each additional year of age, due mainly to lower levels of light-intensity physical activity and greater time spent sedentary. Physical activity did not differ by weight status in the youngest children, but from age seven onwards, overweight/obese participants were less active than their normal weight counterparts. Physical activity varied between samples from different countries, with a 15–20 % difference between the highest and lowest countries at age 9–10 and a 26–28 % difference at age 12–13.ConclusionsPhysical activity differed between samples from different countries, but the associations between demographic characteristics and physical activity were consistently observed. Further research is needed to explore environmental and sociocultural explanations for these differences.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12966-015-0274-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

and the European Youth Heart Study teamBackground: The aim of the European Youth Heart Study (EYHS) is to establish the nature, strength, and interactions between personal, environmental, and lifestyle influences on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in European children. Methods: The EYHS is an international study measuring CVD risk factors, and their associated influences, in children. Relationships between these independent factors and risk of disease will inform the design of CVD interventions in children. A minimum of 1000 boys and girls ages 9 and 15 y were recruited from four European countries-Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Portugal. Variables measured included physical, biochemical, lifestyle, psychosocial, and sociodemographic data. Results: Of the 5664 children invited

Aims: To investigate whether weight category (underweight, average weight, overweight, and obese) at age 7.5 predicts bullying involvement at 8.5 years. Models were tested separately for boys and girls to investigate gender differences in association patterns. Methods: Prospective cohort study in southwest England. Height and weight were measured in children at age 7.5 (n = 8210). BMI (kg/m 2 ) was used to define underweight, average weight, overweight, and obese children, according to British age and gender specific growth reference data. Overt (n = 7083) and relational (n = 6932) bullying behaviour was assessed in children at age 8.5. Results: After adjustment for parental social class, compared to average weight boys, obese boys were 1.66 (95% CI 1.04 to 2.66) times more likely to be overt bullies and 1.54 (1.12 to 2.13) times more likely to be overt victims. Obese girls were 1.53 (1.09 to 2.15) times more likely to be overt victims compared to average weight girls. Conclusions: Obesity is predictive of bullying involvement for both boys and girls. Preadolescent obese boys and girls are more likely to be victims of bullying because they deviate from appearance ideals. Other obese boys are likely to be bullies, presumably because of their physical dominance in the peer group.

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Cycling to school may contribute to higher cardiovascular fitness in young people.