Gender and school-stage associations with health-related behaviours and health-related quality of life in Spanish children

Abstract

During adolescence individuals experience a number of cognitive, physical, psychological and emotional changes which can impinge on their health and wellbeing. The aim of this study was to identify associations with five components of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children. Data were collected from 456 children attending one of five schools in Granada, Spain in a cross-sectional design. Females reported engaging in less physical activity than males. Females reported lower HRQoL in terms of lower physical wellbeing, family relationships and autonomy and perceived school environment in secondary school. Males only reported lower perceptions of their school environment in secondary school. Physical activity was strongly associated with HRQoL, whereas Mediterranean diet was not. Physical activity interventions should be prioritised when positive HRQoL of children is a main target. Special consideration should be given to support the positive development of females, especially during the early years of secondary school.

Associations between in-school-hours physical activity and child health-related quality of life: A cross-sectional study in a sample of Australian primary school children

“…This may potentially explain the stronger within-group associations between in-school-hours weekly total PA and HRQoL in males within the current study, particularly when examining time in MVPA. Converse to the current study’s findings, a cross-sectional study conducted in a sample of Spanish primary school children by Knox and Muros (2017) , found that in female primary school children, PA positively predicted physical and psychological wellbeing. However for males, PA only predicted positive physical wellbeing.…”

“…Comparatively, in-school-hours weekly PA for females was only positively related to Total HRQoL and Physical Health Summary Scores. Previous findings by Gu et al, 2016 , Knox and Muros, 2017 demonstrated that on average, males were more active, in terms of intensity and duration of PA than females. This may potentially explain the stronger within-group associations between in-school-hours weekly total PA and HRQoL in males within the current study, particularly when examining time in MVPA.…”

“…However for males, PA only predicted positive physical wellbeing. However, this study employed a self-report measure for PA and a child-self report measure for HRQoL ( Knox and Muros, 2017 ). Differences in PA and HRQoL measurement may partially explain some of the inconsistencies in findings.…”

“…Similarly, a 2018 review by Marker et al (2018) of 33 studies, found positive, although small, associations between children’s PA and their HRQoL. These reviews included a mixture of studies utilising self and parent-report, as well as objective measures of children’s PA. Whilst the findings of these reviews suggest that the association between PA and HRQoL is consistent across the sexes, findings from a recent cross-sectional study of 456 Spanish children aged 11–14 years utilising self-report measures of PA, suggested that there may be differences in these associations by sex Knox and Muros (2017) .…”

The mediating effect of food choice upon associations between adolescent health-related quality of life and physical activity, social media use and abstinence from alcohol

“…Research conducted in different countries is of the consensus that sex differences are evident in HRQoL and its dimensions, showing that adolescent girls experience lower quality of life than boys [ 13 , 23 , 39 – 41 ]. Studies that have employed the Kidscreen52 have found adolescent girls to score higher than boys on school environment and lower in physical wellbeing [ 12 , 42 ].…”