Executive summary of the Czech Republic's 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

First report card on physical activity for children and adolescents in Slovakia: a comprehensive analysis, international comparison, and identification of surveillance gaps

BACKGROUND

National surveillance of physical activity (PA) is essential to establish public health policy actions for PA promotion and evaluation, thereby promoting accountability. The main goal of this study is to comprehensively analyse surveillance data on PA behaviours, outcomes, and influencing factors among Slovakian children and adolescents by using the methodology of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance Global Matrix (AHKGA-GM) project. Secondary goals are to provide comparisons with international data and the identification of surveillance gaps.

METHODS

A comprehensive multilevel search strategy for data about 10 core indicators and 1 additional indicator published between 2015 and 2020 (solely pre-COVID-19-pandemic data) was used. The data were then synthesised, and a set of standardised benchmarks was used to assign grades according to The Global Matrix 4.0 Grading Rubric.

RESULTS

A total of 552 potentially relevant data resources were retrieved, of which 34 were identified as eligible for data extraction. Grade B was assigned to four core indicators, grade C to five core indicators, and grade D to one core indicator. The additional Sleep indicator was graded a C-. Compared with the average grades from countries with high Human Development Index scores, Slovakia received higher grades in five core indicators (Overall Physical Activity, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behaviours, School, Government), and in the aggregate Behavioural average and Overall average. Compared with global averages, Slovakia had higher grades in the aforementioned core and aggregate indicators, and in the Community and Environment core indicator and aggregate Sources of Influence average indicator. Numerous surveillance gaps were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall grading of the available surveillance data suggests the need for improvement in all 10 surveilled core indicators, and in additional Sleep indicator. Despite the fact that numerous identified surveillance gaps limit the overall informative value of the current grade, they provide the important information needed to enhance surveillance of PA-related indicators in Slovakia. For instance, the focus should be put on younger children and parents, on obtaining the device-measured data on various movement behaviours, on the topic of outdoor physical activities, and policy evaluation.

Surveillance of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in czech children and adolescents: a scoping review of the literature from the past two decades

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to map the available evidence related to physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) in Czech children and adolescents and suggest future directions and improvements to strengthen the surveillance of PA and SB in the Czech Republic.

METHODS

The search of articles published between January 2000 and December 2020 included the Medline and Medvik databases and a manual search in eight Czech journals related to the topic. This review followed the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews".

RESULTS

Out of 350 identified articles, 79 articles met the criteria for selection and referred to 27 studies. The majority of the articles were cross-sectional (89%), approximately two-thirds of the articles (61%) examined only PA, and half of the articles (51%) employed device-based assessments. Approximately 47% of the articles reported the prevalence of physical inactivity on the basis of inconsistently defined recommendations. Approximately 14%, 23%, and 10% of the articles focused on active transportation, organized PA (including physical education or leisure-time PA), and parent-child PA, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Future studies need to focus on longitudinal design and interventions, randomly selected samples, a mix of device-based and self-reported methods, and the recognition of health-related 24-hour time use patterns. This review advocates the government-supported development of a national surveillance system that will help to reduce insufficient PA and excessive SB.

Individual vs. Team Sports-What's the Better Strategy for Meeting PA Guidelines in Children?

There is insufficient evidence from previous studies dealing with structure of sport preferences referring to the interconnection between individual factors (socio-economic status, organized/structured physical activity (PA), location, etc.), although these factors can considerably influence total level of PA as well as the structure of sport preferences. The study investigated associations between PA frequency and specific sports activities according to the intensity with the impact on leisure, sport, and education domain, using data from an international health behavior in school-aged children survey. Participants were fifth and ninth grade students in the Czech Republic (seven schools) and Slovakia (nine schools). The results showed a significant association between intensity in team sports and PA frequency per week. Those who participated in high-intensity team sports were 2.5 times more likely to be more physically active.

The impact of COVID-19 on Physical Activity of Czech children

INTRODUCTION

The pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and related restrictions (closed schools and sports centers, social isolation, masks) may have a negative impact on children's health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of physical activity (PA) of Czech children during COVID-19 in autumn 2020.

METHODS

Ninety-eight Czech children (mean age = 10.1 ± 1.47 years) completed the standardized Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Czech Children (PAQ-C/cz) during COVID lockdown. Data were compared with previously published norms. Thirty-five children also reported daily number of steps measured by accelerometers.

RESULTS

Total PAQ-C score was 0.38 lower during COVID compared to Pre-COVID [t(302) = 5.118., p < .001]. The male PAQ-C total score was 0.37 lower [t(146) = 3.21., p = .002)] and the female total score was 0.39 lower [t(154) = 3.97., p < .001] during COVID compared to Pre-COVID. Specifically, responses of PA during spare time, before-school, physical education (PE), and recess were significantly lower during COVID. The average number of steps was 7.767 steps/day (boys = 9.255; girls = 6.982).

CONCLUSION

COVID lockdown resulted in significant reduction of PA in Czech children. Strategies to promote adequate PA of children during the pandemic need to be determined.

A Higher Step Count Is Associated with the Better Evaluation of Physical Education Lessons in Adolescents

The current study aimed to determine: (a) the step counts of boys and girls in habitual physical education (PE) lessons during school teaching practice, (b) the association between the physical load and the evaluation of PE lessons in boys and girls, and (c) the differences in the meeting of the recommendations for PA in PE lessons between Czech and Polish boys and girls. A total of 4092 adolescents from 74 Czech and 58 Polish secondary schools participated in the study. The step counts were monitored using pedometers, while the attitudes towards PE were assessed using a PE lesson evaluation questionnaire. On average, the Czech boys reached 2476 steps (Polish boys reached 2148 steps) and the Czech girls reached 1766 steps (Polish girls reached 1946 steps) in their PE lessons. A higher step count in PE lessons was associated with higher odds of a positive evaluation of PE lessons in boys (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.123–1.626, p = 0.001) and girls (OR = 1.72, 95%CI = 1.449–2.032, p < 0.001). This study provides evidence that a higher step count in PE is associated with a positive evaluation of PE lessons in boys and girls. The findings are important to support the restoration habits on a regular PA in the post-pandemic time.

Parent-Child Physical Activity Association in Families With 4-to 16-Year-Old Children

Background: The main aim of this study was to quantify the associations between parents’ and children’s physical activity by age, gender, and the day of the week on the basis of a pedometer-measured step count (SC). Methods: The sample comprised data from 4-to 16-year-old children and their parents from the Czech Republic (1102 mother-child dyads and 693 father-child dyads). The parents and their children wore the Yamax SW200 pedometer during seven days of monitoring. Results: The strongest SC association was found between mothers and daughters aged 4–7.9 years on weekdays (r_p = 0.402; p < 0.01) and at weekends (r_p = 0.577; p < 0.01). In children aged 8–16, the parent-child association is gender-specific, with the father-son relationship being dominant, especially at weekends (weekend SC: fathers-sons_{8–11.9 y} r_p = 0.416, p < 0.01; fathers-sons_{12–16 y} r_p = 0.443, p < 0.01). An increase of 1000 steps in the fathers (mothers) is associated with an increase of more than 400 (200) steps in their sons (daughters). Conclusions: This study confirms a strong parent-child SC relationship in children younger than eight years of age. In older children, the parent-child SC association is gender-specific and dominated by the father-son relationship, particularly on weekends. The SC associations that are revealed can be used for the development of physical activity programs for adolescents.