Daily variations in weather and the relationship with physical activity and sedentary time in European 10- to 12-year-olds: The ENERGY-Project.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the study was to examine the association of daily variations in rainfall and temperature with sedentary time (ST) and physical activity (PA) in European children.


METHODS
Children were included from 5 countries (Belgium, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland) as part of the ENERGY-project. We used cross-sectional data from 722 children aged 10-12 years (47% boys). ST and PA were measured by accelerometers for 6 consecutive days, including weekend days. Weather data were collected from online national weather reports. Multilevel regression models were used for data analyses.


RESULTS
Maximum temperature was positively associated with light PA (β = 3.1 min/day; 95% CI = 2.4-3.8), moderate-to-vigorous PA (β = 0.6 min/day; 95% CI = 0.4-0.8), and average PA [β = 4.1 counts per minute (cpm); 95% CI = 1.6-6.5, quadratic relationship]. Rainfall was inversely and quadratically associated with light PA (β = -1.3 min/day; 95% CI = -1.9 to -0.6), moderate-to-vigorous PA (β = -0.6 min/day; 95% CI = -0.8 to -0.3), and average PA (β = -1.6 cpm; 95% CI = -2.2 to -0.9). Maximum temperature was not significantly associated with ST (β = -0.2 min/day; 95% CI = -1.0 to 0.6), while rainfall was positively associated with ST (β = 0.9 min/day; 95% CI = 0.6-1.3).


CONCLUSIONS
The current study shows that temperature and rainfall are significantly associated with PA and ST in 10- to 12-year-old European children.
Dept of Public and Occupational Health, VU University Medical Center, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Mine
M
Yildirim
Anna
A
Schoeni
Amika S
AS
Singh
Teatske M
TM
Altenburg
Johannes
J
Brug
Ilse
I
De Bourdeaudhuij
Eva
E
Kovacs
Bettina
B
Bringolf-Isler
Yannis
Y
Manios
J M
JM
Chinapaw M
D002648:Child; D005060:Europe; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D011891:Rain; D012044:Regression Analysis; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014887:Weather