title: A multilevel examination of gender differences in the association between features of the school environment and physical activity among a sample of grades 9 to 12 students in Ontario, Canada.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Creating school environments that support student physical activity (PA) is a key recommendation of policy-makers to increase youth PA. Given males are more active than females at all ages, it has been suggested that investigating gender differences in the features of the environment that associate with PA may help to inform gender-focused PA interventions and reduce the gender disparity in PA. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore gender differences in the association between factors of the school environment and students' time spent in PA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Among a sample of 10781 female and 10973 male students in grades 9 to 12 from 76 secondary schools in Ontario, Canada, student- and school-level survey PA data were collected and supplemented with GIS-derived measures of the built environment within 1-km buffers of the 76 schools.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings from the present study revealed significant differences in the time male and female students spent in PA as well as in some of the school- and student-level factors associated with PA. Results of the gender-specific multilevel analyses indicate schools should consider providing an alternate room for PA, especially for providing flexibility activities directed at female students. Schools should also consider offering daily physical education programming to male students in senior grades and providing PA promotion initiatives targeting obese male students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although most variation in male and female students' time spent in PA lies between students within schools, there is sufficient between-school variation to be of interest to practitioners and policy-makers. More research investigating gender differentials in environment factors associated with youth PA are warranted.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
authors.forename: Erin P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Hobin
authors.forename: Scott T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Leatherdale
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manske
authors.forename: Joel A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dubin
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Veugelers
mesh_terms: D000288:Administrative Personnel; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D009864:Ontario; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011314:Preventive Health Services; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012572:School Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012931:Social Environment; D058992:Social Participation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult