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

Abstract

BackgroundThere is limited knowledge of physical activity (PA) patterns among high school students. High schools plays an important role as context for the students, but it is uncertain to what extent schools influence student participation in PA during leisure time. The purpose of this study is to describe patterns of PA and assess variations between schools and classes in PA, in a large cohort of Danish high school students.MethodsSelf-reported cross-sectional data came from The Danish National Youth Study, comprising a total of 70,674 students attending 119 different schools and 3213 classes. Multilevel logistic regressions were applied to evaluate the association between socio-demographic variables and patterns of PA, and to assess the impact of schools and classes on PA measures.ResultsStudents whose parents have achieved a lower level of education, older students and girls of perceived ethnic minority generally participated less in several forms of PA during leisure time. Substantial variations between schools were observed in terms of participation in PA at school during leisure time and in terms of use of active transportation to and from school. The school-level accounted for 9% (intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.09 (95% CI: 0.06–0.11)) and 8% (ICC = 0.08 (95% CI: 0.07–0.11)) of the variation for participation in PA during leisure time and active transportation.ConclusionOverall, students whose parents achieved a lower level of education, older students and girls of perceived ethnic minority represent vulnerable groups in relation to participation in several forms of PA during leisure time. The ICCs indicate that schools, in particular, have the potential to influence participation in PA at school during leisure time and active transportation to and from school. Thus, high schools should encourage and facilitate activities aimed at engaging students in PA during leisure time as well as encourage active transportation.

Clusters of health behaviours among young adults in Ireland

“…US schools were found to vary in students' number of days of PE and overall levels of physical activity (Roman and Taylor, 2013). In Denmark, Steenholt et al (2018) reported significant between-school variation in physical activity during leisure time and in mode of transport to school. Some of this difference was related to schools offering PA after school hours or having a special programme to promote PA.…”

Back Pain Related with Age, Anthropometric Variables, Sagittal Spinal Curvatures, Hamstring Extensibility, Physical Activity and Health Related Quality of Life in Male and Female High School Students

“…Another option is to carry out specific exercise programs in high school to improve factors that could be related with SP [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Along this line, SP has been linked to spine misalignments [ 7 , 22 ]; shortness in hamstring extensibility [ 23 ]; body height, body mass index (BMI), waist and hip girths [ 23 , 24 ]; or sedentary behaviors during leisure time [ 24 , 25 ] in childhood and adolescence.…”

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

“…Some studies have looked simultaneously at school-and class-level variation to determine the proportion of variability attributable to each level. These studies have shown that variation in physical activity is seen at both the school-and class-level, but that there is greater variation at the class-level for physical activity both within and outside of school [31,35]. These differences remain after adjusting for individual demographics, such as age, gender, ethnicity and parent education level [35], indicating that specific aspects of the school or classroom environment have the potential to influence physical activity participation.…”

“…These studies have shown that variation in physical activity is seen at both the school-and class-level, but that there is greater variation at the class-level for physical activity both within and outside of school [31,35]. These differences remain after adjusting for individual demographics, such as age, gender, ethnicity and parent education level [35], indicating that specific aspects of the school or classroom environment have the potential to influence physical activity participation. While the evidence cited earlier suggests that both peer groups and neighbourhoods vary, we are aware of no studies that have explicitly described between-friend or between-neighbourhood variations.…”

“…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].…”