Emotional and behavioral problems in relation to physical activity in youth.
OBJECTIVE
Physical inactivity is known to be associated with mental health problems in adulthood, but the association in youth is unclear. This study evaluated the association between the level of physical activity and the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems in Finnish adolescents.


METHODS
The study population consisted of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 including 7002 adolescents who responded to a postal inquiry in 2001-2002 at the age of 15-16 yr. They completed the Youth Self-Report questionnaire assessing their emotional and behavioral problems and a questionnaire concerning their moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA). The odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for having different emotional and behavioral problems were obtained in 2007 from logistic regression and adjusted for family type, income, parents' education, and body mass index.


RESULTS
In boys, physical inactivity (1 h or less of MVPA per week) was associated with anxious/depressed symptoms (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.5-5.7), withdrawn/depressed symptoms (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.8-4.2), social problems (OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.8-5.1), thought problems (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.1-5.2), and attention problems (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.0-3.4) when compared to being physically active (4 h or more of MVPA per week). In girls, physical inactivity was associated with withdrawn/depressed symptoms (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.5-3.6), somatic complaints (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.0-1.9), social problems (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.7-6.1), attention problems (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.3-3.2), and rule-breaking behavior (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.3-2.5) compared to being physically active.


CONCLUSIONS
Physical inactivity was associated with several emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents. Future research should investigate the mechanisms behind these associations and the effectiveness of physical activity in the treatment of emotional and behavioral problems among young people.
Kantomaa
Marko T
MT
Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oulu, Finland.
Tammelin
Tuija H
TH
Ebeling
Hanna E
HE
Taanila
Anja M
AM
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires