title: Measured sedentary time and physical activity during the school day of European 10- to 12-year-old children: the ENERGY project.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to describe the time devoted to sedentary and physical activities at school in five European countries and to examine differences according to country, sex, ethnicity, parental education and weight status.
  
  
  METHODS
  cross-European cross-sectional survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary schoolchildren (n=1025) aged 10-12 years in Belgium, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Switzerland wore accelerometers for at least six consecutive days. Only weekdays were used for this study to calculate the percentages of school-time spent in sedentary activities and moderate to vigorous intensity activity. Trained research assistants measured height and weight. Sex and date of birth were self-reported by the child and parental education and ethnicity were parent-reported.
  
  
  RESULTS
  European schoolchildren spent on average 65% of their time at school in sedentary activities and 5% on moderate to vigorous intensity activities, with small differences between countries. Girls spent a significant larger amount of school-time in sedentary activities (67%) than boys (63%; p<0.0001), and spent less time in moderate to vigorous intensity activities (4% versus 5%; p<0.001). Overweight children spent significantly less time in moderate to vigorous intensity activities (4%) than normal weight children (5%,p < 0.01) [corrected]. Parental education or ethnicity were not associated with time spent in sedentary or physical activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  European schoolchildren spend a small amount of their school-time in moderate to vigorous intensity activities and a large amount in sedentary activities, with small but significant differences across countries. Future interventions should target more physical activities and less sedentary time at school particularly in girls.
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and the Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maartje M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: van Stralen
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and the Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yıldırım
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and the Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anouk
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wulp
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Saskia J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: te Velde
authors.affiliation: Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Maïté
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verloigne
authors.affiliation: The Federal Institute of Sport, Magglingen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doessegger
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Odysseas
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Androutsos
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
authors.forename: Éva
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Kovács
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brug
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and the Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: m.chinapaw@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: Mai J M
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chinapaw
mesh_terms: D056044:Actigraphy; D001530:Belgium; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009426:Netherlands; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D012574:Schools; D012737:Sex Factors; D013557:Switzerland; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Adolescent; Behaviour; Correlates; Europe; Exercise; Sedentary