Abstract
Objectives
While there is consistent evidence that rural adults in Australia are less active
than their urban counterparts, studies relating geographical remoteness to activity
patterns in Australian adolescents have yielded inconsistent results. The aim of this
study was to describe objectively and subjectively measured patterns of physical activity
and sedentary behaviours across remoteness categories in a representative sample of
9–16 year old Australians. Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Methods: 2071 Australian adolescents provided self-report use of time data on four days and
wore a pedometer for at least 6 days within the 2007 Australian National Children's
Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. Comparisons of activity patterns were made
across four objectively-determined remoteness categories (Major City, Inner Regional,
Outer Regional and Remote), adjusting for household income, parental education and
age. Results: Adolescents living in major cities self-reported 11–29 min less moderate to vigorous physical activity each day than their counterparts living
in geographically more remote areas, and took 150–850 fewer steps each day. While
there were no differences in time spent in sport or active transport, differences
in free play participation were significant. Males in major cities also reported higher
levels of screen time. Differences were somewhat more marked among males than among
females. Conclusions: Activity levels among Australian adolescents show contrasting patterns of geographical
differences to those found in Australian adults. Higher levels of free play among
rural Australian adolescents may be due to more available space and less fear of traffic
and stranger risks.
Highlights
- Rural Australian adolescents are more active than their metropolitan counterparts.
- Metropolitan Australian males engage in more screen time than rural counterparts.
- Organised sport participation is similar among metropolitan and rural adolescents.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Science and Medicine in SportAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Australia's Health 2008.AIHW, Canberra2008 ([cat. no. AUS 99])
- Liaw S. Kilpatrick S. A textbook of Australian Rural Health. Australian Rural Health Education Network, Canberra2008
- Epidemiology of physical activity participation among New South Wales school students.Aust N Z J Public Health. 2002; 26: 371-374
- Descriptive epidemiology of small screen recreation among Australian adolescents.J Paediatr Child Health. 2009; 42: 709-714
- Anthropometry, fitness and physical activity of urban and rural south Australian children.Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2002; 14: 297-312
- Researching the rural–metropolitan health differential using the ‘social determinants of health’.Aust J Rural Health. 2000; 8: 254-260
- Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey – Main Findings.Department of Health and Ageing, Canberra20072008
- Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) remoteness structure (RA) digital boundaries, Australia, 2006 [1259.0.30.004].Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra2007
- International standards for anthropometric assessment.North-West University, Potchefstroom, RSA2006
- Applying multiple methods to improve accuracy of activity assessments.in: Welk G. Physical activity assessments for health-related research. Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL2002
- The Multimedia Activity Recall for Children and Adolescents (MARCA): development and evaluation.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2006; 3 ([Epub 26 May])
- The validity of a computerised use of time recall, the Multimedia Activity Recall for Children and Adolescents.Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2010; 22: 34-43
- Pedometer measures of free-living physical activity: comparison of 13 models.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004; 36: 331-335
- Body mass index reference curves for the UK, 1990.Arch Dis Child. 1995; 73: 25-29
- Screenieboppers and extreme screenies: the place of screen time in the time budgets of 10–13 year-old Australian children.Aust N Z J Public Health. 2006; 30: 137-142
- Development of a compendium of energy expenditures for youth.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2008; 5 ([Epub 10 September])
- Active travel to school and cardiovascular fitness in Danish children and adolescents.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006; 38: 1724-1731
- Features of the metabolic syndrome are associated with objectively measured physical activity and fitness in Danish children: the European Youth Heart Study (EYHS).Diabetes Care. 2004; 27: 2141-2148
- Premier's Physical Activity Taskforce (W.A.). Child and Adolescent Physical Activity and Nutrition (CAPANS) Survey 2003: summary.Government of Western Australia, 2005
- Dietary intake, physical activity and TV viewing as mediators of the association of socioeconomic status with body composition: a cross-sectional analysis of Australian youth.Int J Obes. 2007; 31: 45-52
- Urban–rural comparison of weight status among women and children living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods.Med J Aust. 2010; 192: 137-140
- A review of correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000; 32: 963-975
- Parents’ perceptions of neighborhood safety and children's physical activity.Prev Med. 2006; 43: 212-217
- Differences in physical activity levels between urban and rural school children in Cyprus.Health Educ Res. 2004; 19: 138-147
- Children's domain: play and place in child development.Croom Helm, London1986
- Contribution of youth sport to total daily physical activity among 6- to 12-yr-old boys.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007; 39: 1493-1500
- Relationships between media use, body fatness and physical activity in children and youth: a meta-analysis.Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004; 28: 1238-1246
- Is spending time in screen-based sedentary behaviors associated with less physical activity: a cross national investigation.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2010; 7: 46
- Association between socio-demographic factors, screen media usage and physical activity by type of day in Spanish adolescents.J Adolescence. 2010; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.11.009
- Physical activity levels of children living in different built environments.Prev Med. 2010; 50: 193-198
Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 11, 2011
Accepted:
May 24,
2011
Received in revised form:
April 15,
2011
Received:
November 8,
2010
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
