engleski

Correlates of physical inactivity in Croatian adolescents: the CRO-PALS study

Purpose: The objective of this observational study is to investigate the associations among various factors and physical inactivity level among adolescents in Croatia. Methods: The present study is a part of the major CRO-PALS investigation which is an on-going longitudinal study involving almost ~900 adolescents (age 15.6±0.4 y, 51% boys) from 14 public and private high schools in Zagreb, Croatia. The analyses presented here are based on year 1 data from 828 individuals. Weekly volume of physical activity, sedentary behaviors and sleep as well as demographic information were collected by previously validated, self-administered SHAPES questionnaire (Wong, et al., 2006). Body-height and body-mass were measured using standard procedures, while percent body-fat was estimated via skinfold measurement according to Slaughter, et al. (1988). Physical inactivity was defined as not meeting the current physical activity guidelines set by the World Health Organization guidelines (2010). Binary logistic regressions were calculated to establish the associations between the studied covariates and physical inactivity level (dichotomous criterion: physical activity vs inactivity). Both crude and adjusted associations were examined. After examining the effect of gender, separate analyses in boys and girls were further adjusted and performed . Results: In crude model, girls demonstrated a higher likelihood of being physically inactive compared to boys (OR=1.93, 95% CI=1.46-2.56). Correspondingly, after further adjustment for confounding variables the odds changed only marginally (Adjusted model ; OR=1.86, 95% CI=1.24- 2.80). Notably, amongst other covariates the strongest predictor of physical inactivity among boys was school type (OR=1.593, 95% CI=1.033- 2.454), whereas for girls, body-fat percentage (OR=0.951, 95% CI=0.925-0.978) and screen time (OR=0.998, 95% CI=0.997-1.000) were the most influential predictors. Conclusions: Apparently, gender plays a vital role in defining the odds for physical inactivity during adolescence. Therefore, exercise programs should be tailored for adolescent girls in particular, to target the well-known health threatening consequences originating from physical inactivity (van der Horst et al., 2009). In addition, we propose systematic monitoring of physical activity in adolescents as a potentially effective control mechanism.

physical inactivity ; adolescents

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