title: Outdoor physical activity and its relation with self-reported health in Japanese children: results from the Toyama birth cohort study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few studies have examined trends in engagement in outdoor physical activity as children grow and whether changes in physical activity at different ages affect children's health. This study determined the preference for and frequency of physical activity among Japanese children from ages 6 to 12 years and investigated the effect of physical activity and of change in physical activity on children's self-reported health.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were from the prospective, longitudinal Toyama Birth Cohort Study, a total of 5238 children were followed at their age of 12 years. Preference for and frequency of outdoor physical activity were from the self-administered questionnaire. Self-reported health was from the Japanese version of Dartmouth Primary Care Co-operative project charts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reporting liking and participating in outdoor physical activity at both ages 6 and 12 years were associated with higher likelihood of good self-reported health (Odds ratio 1.24 [95% CI: 1.03-1.50] for liking activity and OR = 1.27[1.08, 1.50] for participating in activity) compared with those who did not like or participate in this at only one or at neither age, after adjustment for lifestyle factors and body pain. The adjusted OR was 1.23 (95% CI: 0.97-1.56) for girls whose preference for liking outdoor physical activity was not changed at both ages compared with those whose preference changed. The OR was 1.47 (95% CI: 1.14-1.89) for boys who persisted in participating in the outdoor physical activity than those who did not persist.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is an association between a persistent expression of liking outdoor physical activity and self- reported health.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Reproductive and Child Health/Ministry of Health Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.|Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sekine
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tatsuse
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamanishi
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Physical Activity, Diet and Health Promotion, Institute of Sports Science, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Population Research, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: outdoor physical activity; quality of life; self-reported health; the Toyama study