The association of employment and physical activity among black and white 10th and 12th grade students in the United States.
BACKGROUND
Evidence of an association between employment and physical activity (PA) in youth has been mixed, with studies suggesting both positive and negative associations. We examined the association between employment and PA among U.S. high school students as measured by self-reported overall PA, vigorous exercise, and participation in school athletic teams.


METHODS
We employed a secondary analysis using weighted linear regression to a sample of black and white 10th grade (n = 12073) and 12th grade students (n = 5500) drawn from the nationally representative cross-sectional 2004 Monitoring the Future Study.


RESULTS
Overall, 36.5% of 10th and 74.6% of 12th grade students were employed. In multivariable analyses, 10th graders working >10 hours a week reported less overall PA and exercise and those working >20 hours a week reported less participation in team sports. Among 12th graders, any level of employment was associated with lower rates of team sports; those working >10 hours a week reported less overall PA; and those working >20 hours reported less exercise.


CONCLUSIONS
Employment at and above 10 hours per week is negatively associated with PA. Increasing work intensity may shed light on the decline of PA as adolescents grow older and merits further attention in research.
Division of Health Behavior Research, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
Sandi L
SL
Pruitt
Andrew E
AE
Springer
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D013177:Sports / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*