title: Study on Current Levels of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior among Middle School Students in Beijing, China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to determine current levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior in middle school students on the basis of grade, sex, student attitudes toward physical education, and residence location.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2013, a cross-sectional study of 1793 students aged 12 to 15 years was conducted across eight middle schools in Beijing, China. Four schools were selected from an urban district and another four schools were from a suburban district. Physical activity and sedentary behavior data were collected using the commonly used school-based Chinese version of the China Health and Nutrition Survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of sampled students was 13.3 ± 1.0 years; 51.5% were boys. Approximately 76.6% of students reported having three 45-minute physical education classes every week. A total of 35.6% students spent ≥ 1 h/day performing moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school, and 34.9% spent ≥ 1 h/day in MVPA outside school time. Approximately half (49.7%) of the students engaged in reading, writing, or drawing for ≥ 2 h/day, and 42.9% reported screen time for ≥ 2 h/day. Although boys spent more time engaged in physical activity than girls did, they also spent more time exhibiting sedentary behavior. Each 10-unit increase in attitudes toward physical education was associated with an increased odds of 1.15 (95%CI: 1.09-1.20) for spending more than 1 h/day on MVPA. Students in suburban schools reported engaging in physical activity less when compared with those in urban schools.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of our students did not meet the current physical activity recommendations, and about half of the students spent excessive time engaging in sedentary behaviors. Findings from this study highlight a positive association between student attitudes toward physical education and physical activity. Studies are needed to further explore the role of student attitudes toward physical education in promoting physical activity among Chinese students.
authors.affiliation: Institute of School Health, Beijing Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiali
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Lab of Exercise Epidemiology, School of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Huanhuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Institute of School Health, Beijing Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Guan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Lab of Exercise Epidemiology, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D044466:Asian People; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D000068476:Beijing; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D010806:Physical Education and Training / Q000458:organization & administration; D012574:Schools; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*