Gender differences in the daily physical activities of Danish school children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the daily physical activities of Danish children with a focus on describing and explaining gender differences. Accelerometer measurements of physical activity in different contexts, as well as questionnaire data, were collected from more than 500 children at pre-school and later at third grade. The study showed that boys were generally more physically active than girls (18% at age 6—7, and 16% at age 9—10, both p < 0.001) and found differences in the types of activities undertaken by the two genders. These findings are in accordance with numerous other studies in Denmark as well as internationally. However, this study adds to this knowledge by showing that the gender difference in total amounts of activity was mainly due to large gender differences in the amounts of self-organized physical activity such as after-school day care (difference at age 6—7 = 45%, difference at age 9—10 = 58%, both p < 0.001) and school breaks (difference at age 6—7 = 32%, difference at age 9—10 = 36%, both p < 0.001). This could be partly explained by boys being more interested in playing football in contexts for children’s self-organized activities.

A nested case–control study: personal, social and environmental correlates of vigorous physical activity in adolescents with asthma

“…Children and adolescents with asthma endeavour to be "normal" amongst peers (37) which may contribute to the perception of peer support by those with high level of PA and that boys participate in 0.55 hours more VPA each day than girls in the present study. Gender differences in PA are well known in several studies (7,22,24,38)., We found, however, no interaction between peer support and gender in association with VPA and may interpret peer support as a contributor of VPA irrespectively of gender.…”

Recreational activities and motor skills of children in kindergarten

“…Boys tend to be more physically active than girls (Andersen et al 2008;Cardon et al 2008;Grontved et al 2009;Nielsen, Pfister, and Bo Andersen 2011;Rosenkranz et al 2011) and they engage 2 V.A. Temple et al in more moderate and vigorous physical activity than girls (Pate et al 2004;Sääkslahti et al 2004;Dessing et al 2013).…”

“…For younger children (approximately 5 -8 years), the most commonly reported active recreational pastimes tend to be playing in playgrounds, swimming, bike riding, and going on hikes (Dunst, Hamby, and Snyder 2009;King et al 2010;Nielsen, Pfister, and Bo Andersen 2011). Participation in organized sport is less prevalent (Dunst, Hamby, and Snyder 2009;Solish, Perry, and Minnes 2010;Nielsen, Pfister, and Bo Andersen 2011) but seasonal sports (e.g. swimming, ice-hockey) may have higher participation rates (Dunst, Hamby, and Snyder 2009).…”

“…Contemporary children appear to participate more widely in less physically active social and leisure activities, such as watching television, going to friends' houses, and listening to stories, than in active recreational activities (Dunst, Hamby, and Snyder 2009;King et al 2010;Solish, Perry, and Minnes 2010). For younger children (approximately 5 -8 years), the most commonly reported active recreational pastimes tend to be playing in playgrounds, swimming, bike riding, and going on hikes (Dunst, Hamby, and Snyder 2009;King et al 2010;Nielsen, Pfister, and Bo Andersen 2011). Participation in organized sport is less prevalent (Dunst, Hamby, and Snyder 2009;Solish, Perry, and Minnes 2010;Nielsen, Pfister, and Bo Andersen 2011) but seasonal sports (e.g.…”

Stemmer fra skolegården: En artikel om at skabe fysisk aktivitet i frikvarteret ud fra et børneperspektiv

“…Frikvarteret byder som institutionel ramme på en unik mulighed for at fremme fysisk aktivitet blandt børn, eftersom frikvartersaktivitet har vist at vaere en af de største bidrag til børns totale fysiske aktivitetsniveau (Nielsen, Pfister, & Andersen, 2011;Ridgers, Stratton, & Fairclough, 2006). Dog er det uklart, hvilke faktorer der fremmer og haemmer fysisk aktivitet i frikvarteret.…”