Tracking physical activity in different settings from late childhood to early adulthood in Germany: the MoMo longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: Regular physical activity is important for remaining healthy. Most studies on the association between active child- and adulthood were based on small non-representative populations. The purpose of the study was to quantify tracking of leisure-time PA (in and outside sports clubs) for 6 years from adolescence into young adulthood in a representative sample in Germany. METHODS: This study was a subsample of the “Motorik-Modul (MoMo) Longitudinal Study” (baseline: 2003–2006, wave 1: 2009–2012). Representative longitudinal physical activity data of N = 947 adolescents were included and collected using the MoMo-physical activity questionnaire (MoMo-PAQ). Stability of different physical activity indices was measured using Spearman’s rank-order correlations and ANOVA with repeated measurement with age, sex and socio-economic status (SES) as determinants. RESULTS: While mean leisure-time physical activity outside sports clubs (LTPA) (F(1,397) = 7.9, df = 1; p < .01), sports club physical activity (SCPA) (F(387) = 4.8, df = 1; p < .05) and overall physical activity (OPA) (F(1,441) = 7.7, df = 1; p < .01) changed significantly over time, no changes in overall sports index (OS index) (F(371) = 3.2, df = 1; p > .05) were observed. Low tracking correlations were found for different physical activity indices (LTPA: r = .094, p < .05; SCPA: r = .248 p = <.05; OPA: r = .211 p < .05; OS index: r = .266 p < .05). Results by sex, age and SES were inconsistent. Analyses of agreement showed different results for determinants and settings. CONCLUSION: The results of this representative study were comparable to previous studies and showed significant but low stability. Possible reasons for low stability coefficients are a relatively long timespan between both measurement points and potential effects of the reliability of subjective assessment methods. The results confirm that physical activity is a fluctuating variable. Future studies should examine the determinants of tracking and change in physical activity

Correction to: Tracking physical activity in different settings from late childhood to early adulthood in Germany: the MoMo longitudinal study

Correction After publication of the article [1], it has been brought to our attention that the values cited under “indices t1-t0” have been reversed and should be displayed in the opposite order. The corrected Table 1 would appear as follow

The relationship between physical activity, physical fitness and overweight in adolescents: a systematic review of studies published in or after 2000

Abstract Background Not only in adults but also in children and adolescents, obesity increases the risk for several health disorders. In turn, many factors including genetic variations and environmental influences (e.g. physical activity) increase the risk of obesity. For instance, 25 to 40 percent of people inherit a predisposition for a high body mass index (BMI). The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize current cross-sectional and longitudinal studies on physical activity, fitness and overweight in adolescents and to identify mediator and moderator effects by evaluating the interaction between these three parameters. Methods The electronic academic databases PubMed, SportDiscus, WEB OF KNOWLEDGE and Ovid were searched for studies on physical activity, fitness and overweight in adolescents aged 11 to 19 years (cross-sectional studies) and in adolescents up to 23 years old (longitudinal studies) published in English in or after 2000. Results Twelve cross-sectional and two longitudinal studies were included. Only four studies analyzed the interaction among physical activity, fitness and overweight in adolescents and reported inconsistent results. All other studies analyzed the relationship between either physical activity and overweight, or between fitness and overweight. Overweight—here including obesity—was inversely related to physical activity. Similarly, all studies reported inverse relations between physical fitness and overweight. Mediator and moderator effects were detected in the interrelationship of BMI, fitness and physical activity. Overall, a distinction of excessive body weight as cause or effect of low levels of physical activity and fitness is lacking. Conclusions The small number of studies on the interrelationship of BMI, fitness and physical activity emphasizes the need for longitudinal studies that would reveal 1) the causality between physical activity and overweight / fitness and overweight and 2) the causal interrelationships among overweight, physical activity and fitness. These results must be carefully interpreted given the lack of distinction between self-reported and objective physical activity and that studies analyzing the metabolic syndrome or cardiovascular disease were not considered. The importance of physical activity or fitness in predicting overweight remains unknown.</p

Correction to: Tracking physical activity in different settings from late childhood to early adulthood in Germany: the MoMo longitudinal study

Correction After publication of the article [1], it has been brought to our attention that the values cited under “indices t1-t0” have been reversed and should be displayed in the opposite order. The corrected Table 1 would appear as follow