A Summary of One Research Team’s Contributions to Understanding Physical Activity Behavior in Children and Youth

Russell R. Pate (), Rod K. Dishman, Marsha Dowda, Kerry L. McIver, Karin A. Pfeiffer, Dwayne E. Porter, Ruth P. Saunders and Dianne S. Ward
Additional contact information
Russell R. Pate: Public Health Research Center, Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, 921 Assembly Street, Suite 212, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Rod K. Dishman: Department of Kinesiology, The University of Georgia Ramsey Student Center, 330 River Road, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Marsha Dowda: Public Health Research Center, Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, 921 Assembly Street, Suite 212, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Kerry L. McIver: Public Health Research Center, Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, 921 Assembly Street, Suite 212, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Karin A. Pfeiffer: Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, 308 West Circle Drive, 27R Intramural Rec Sports-Circle, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Dwayne E. Porter: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 915 Green Street, Suite 518, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Ruth P. Saunders: Public Health Research Center, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, 921 Assembly Street, Suite 212, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Dianne S. Ward: Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, CB # 7461, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-23

Abstract: Schools are well-positioned to provide physical activity opportunities to help youth achieve the recommended 60 or more daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The Children’s Physical Activity Research Group (CPARG) at the University of South Carolina has focused on understanding physical activity in school-aged youth for 30+ years. The purpose of this article was to critically review (CPARG) contributions to the field in school settings and school-age youth. We reviewed 127 published CPARG articles from six research projects conducted between 1993–2019. The review was guided by questions in five categories: measurement of physical activity and its determinants, characteristics of physical activity behavior, correlates/determinants of physical activity, physical activity interventions, and race/ethnicity and physical activity. Results were summarized by question and synthesized across categories. CPARG contributions included assessing physical activity levels, patterns, forms, and contexts; identifying and measuring physical activity correlates/determinants; and conducting school-based physical activity interventions. Identifying multiple domains of physical activity determinants enables researchers and practitioners to select/design age-appropriate, valid, and reliable instruments to assess determinants. Focusing on determinants enables them to create effective physical activity interventions, environments, programs, and policies in schools. These efforts must address race/ethnicity differences, ensuring that measurement instruments and intervention strategies are culturally appropriate.

Keywords: physical activity; young children; children; adolescents; physical activity measurement; physical activity determinants; school-based physical activity interventions; race/ethnicity and physical activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14136/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14136/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:14136-:d:957191

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().