How physical active are pre –schoolchildren in arctic areas?
av førstelektor Karin Helene Danielsen, ILP v/ UiT Norges arktiske universitet
Physical activity during childhood appears protective against various cardio metabolic health markersduring childhood(1)(2)and into adulthood (3). The Norwegian Directorate of Health recommends that children and adolescence accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-to vigorous intensity physical activity daily (MVPA)(4).Despite the immediate and long-term benefits of physical activity in childhood, many children fail to meet the recommendations (5). In Norway, the latest national survey(2018) on schoolchildrenshows that 87% of the6 yearoldgirls and 94% of theboys reach the recommendations. At the age of nine,there is a drop to 64% for thegirls and 81% of the boys, while corresponding numbers among 15 year oldgirls are 40% and for boys 51% (Figure.1). During the day mostof the activity wasin sedentary behaviouror low intensity activity(6).
Living in the arctic areas
The living conditions in Norway have become more and more leisure friendly. Reports show that 93 % of young people has participated in organized sports during their lives (7) and several interventions have been done to promote physical activity in the young population. The government, municipalities and cities are budgeting money on developing and building outdoor recreation areas that are adapted for physical activity, sports and play for children. Schools and volunteer organizations facilitate physical activity by developing and establishing new sport facilities. Despite these efforts, it appears that the proportion of active children has been stable over the years but decreases with increasing age (6). Currently, the role of environmental variables such as school, neighbourhood etc. is investigated. Seasonality as winter and summer has received little attention as a potential environmental determinant of physical activity for children and youth, but some studies suggest that seasonal variation might influence physical activity levels (8). For example, there is evidence of seasonal variation during spring and summer months, compared to the fall and winter months, suggesting that the temperature and the weather may play a role in children`s activity level. However, these observations are not consistent (9). Living in the artic areas means fewer hours of daylight during the winter, and twenty-four hours of daylight during the summer. The polar night season lasts from the middle of November to the middle of January, and the midnight sun period from the middle of May to the middle of July. The Golf stream influences the weather conditions and gives average temperature during winter between 3, 5 to - 4, 6 degrees Celsius and in the summer between +5,3 to +12,4 degrees Celsius (10).
Physical activity in the arctic
One hundred and seventy-three (63%) pre-schoolchildren from grades 1, 3, 5 and 7 (84 boys and 89 girls) wore an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X+) to assess physical activity for one week (7 days) during the polar night season, and one week during the midnight sun season. On average, 42% of the children reached the recommendations for MVPA in the polar night season and 35% reached the recommendations in the summertime (Figure 2). A higher proportion of boys than girls reached the MVPA recommendations, and activity levels decline between 1st - 3rd grades and 5th - 7th grades.
Comparing the percentage of children in the arctic reaching the MVPA recommendations with those from the national survey, schoolchildren living in arctic areas are less active. Our data show that the proportion of children who achieve the recommended 60 minutes MVPA is lower than in the national surveys. Whether this is a result of weather or seasonal variations is not evident from our survey. Nevertheless, our survey suggests that physical activity among children in arctic areas should be given attention by schools, municipalities, parents and volunteer organizations.
Publisert: 25.10.2023
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