An examination of school- and student-level characteristics associated with the likelihood of students’ meeting the Canadian physical activity guidelines in the COMPASS study

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:To examine school-and student-level correlates of physical activity. METHODS:Cross-sectional Year 2 data collected from 45 298 grade 9-12 students attending 89 secondary schools in the COMPASS study were examined using multi-level modelling to predict the likelihood of students a) achieving 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily; and b) achieving the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) activity guideline for youth (60 minutes/MVPA daily, vigorous physical activity at least three days in a week, and resistance training at least three days in a week). RESULTS:The prevalence of students achieving 60 minutes of MVPA daily and meeting the CSEP guideline was 49.3% and 31.0% respectively. Modest between-school variability was identified (1.1% for 60 minutes MVPA and 0.8% for CSEP guideline). School-level characteristics significantly associated with the outcome measures included location, school size, quality of facilities, and accessibility of facilities. Significant student-level correlates included sex, grade, weekly income, binge drinking, fruit and vegetable consumption, and body mass index. CONCLUSIONS:Most youth in this large study reported inadequate physical activity levels. Students were more likely to achieve 60 minutes of MVPA if they attended a larger school or a school in an urban location, whereas students were less likely to meet the CSEP guideline if they attended a school in a small urban location. However, student-level factors, such as binge drinking and inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, were more strongly associated with the outcomes examined.KEY WORDS: Physical activity; adolescent; schools; environment design La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

School and class-level variations and patterns of physical activity: a multilevel analysis of Danish high school students

“…Our findings in relation to PA patterns were consistent with findings in school children and adolescents showing that ethnic minority [ 20 , 29 , 30 ], female sex [ 5 , 8 , 12 – 14 , 19 – 21 , 30 , 31 ], higher age [ 8 , 19 ] and indicators of low parental socio-economic status [ 8 , 13 , 14 , 20 ] were negatively associated with PA levels or the likelihood of participating in organised PA. Although a low proportion of students participated in PA at school during leisure time (13%), this finding is encouraging as girls of perceived ethnic minority simultaneously had higher odds of participating in PA at school.…”

“…After the separate controlling for factors relating to school leadership, we found an attenuation of the ICC for PA during leisure time, suggesting that at least some of the identified school-level variance is due to facilities or opportunities offered by the schools. In support, secondary schools that offer daily PA and have high quality and accessible PA facilities have been found to be predictive for Canadian students’ time spent on moderate to vigorous PA [ 20 , 21 ]. In this study, perceived ethnic minority, having parents with lower education, higher age and lower school urbanisation degree were independently associated with lower likelihoods of walking or cycling to and from school.…”

“…In children and adolescents, studies that have assessed the impact of school related factors on PA, have reported large variations in the PA that could be accounted for by schools [ 14 – 21 ]. Except for two [ 18 , 20 ], these studies were conducted among students attending schools primarily located in the same geographical area or municipality; thus, the impact of the school environment might not be fully reflected in these data. School-level variances might be higher when several municipalities are included, due to greater variations in environmental factors and health policies between schools.…”

A Multilevel Analysis of Neighbourhood, School, Friend and Individual-Level Variation in Primary School Children’s Physical Activity

“…Studies using social network analysis, where the full friendship network is modelled, show weak-to-moderate associations between children's self-reported [17][18][19][20][21][22] and objectively-assessed MVPA [23][24][25][26], and there is some evidence indicating potential gender differences [22,26]. At the broader school-level, factors such as support for active transportation, physical activity policies, and facilities, have been shown to be associated with physical activity both in and outside of school time [27,28].…”

“…Evidence using multi-level modelling consistently shows that children's physical activity levels vary between schools, with the school accounting for between 2% and 10% of the total variance in daily MVPA [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35], indicating that the school environment can influence children's physical activity. Most studies have used self-reported physical activity outcomes, but where objective measures of MVPA have been used, the between-school variance is higher, at around 6%-18% [27,31].…”