. 2020 Mar 18;17(1):38.

doi: 10.1186/s12966-020-00930-x.

Variations in accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time across Europe - harmonized analyses of 47,497 children and adolescents

Jostein Steene-Johannessen¹, Bjørge Herman Hansen², Knut Eirik Dalene², Elin Kolle², Kate Northstone³, Niels Christian Møller⁴, Anders Grøntved⁴, Niels Wedderkopp⁴, Susi Kriemler⁵, Angie S Page⁶, Jardena J Puder⁷, John J Reilly⁸, Luis B Sardinha⁹, Esther M F van Sluijs¹⁰, Lars Bo Andersen¹¹, Hidde van der Ploeg¹², Wolfgang Ahrens¹³, Claudia Flexeder¹⁴, Marie Standl¹⁴, Holger Shculz¹⁴, Luis A Moreno¹⁵, Stefaan De Henauw¹⁶, Nathalie Michels¹⁶, Greet Cardon¹⁶, Francisco B Ortega¹⁷, Jonatan Ruiz¹⁷, Susana Aznar¹⁸, Mikael Fogelholm¹⁹, Andrew Decelis²⁰, Line Grønholt Olesen⁴, Mads Fiil Hjorth²¹, Rute Santos²², Susana Vale²³, Lars Breum Christiansen⁴, Russ Jago⁶, Laura Basterfield²⁴, Christopher G Owen²⁵, Claire M Nightingale²⁵, Gabriele Eiben²⁶, Angela Polito²⁷, Fabio Lauria²⁸, Jeremy Vanhelst²⁹, Charalambos Hadjigeorgiou³⁰, Kenn Konstabel³¹, Dénes Molnár³², Ole Sprengeler¹³, Yannis Manios³³, Jaanus Harro³⁴, Anthony Kafatos³⁵, Sigmund Alfred Anderssen², Ulf Ekelund²; Determinants of Diet and Physical Activity knowledge hub (DEDIPAC); International Children’s Accelerometry Database (ICAD) Collaborators, IDEFICS Consortium and HELENA Consortium

Collaborators, Affiliations

Collaborators

Determinants of Diet and Physical Activity knowledge hub (DEDIPAC); International Children’s Accelerometry Database (ICAD) Collaborators, IDEFICS Consortium and HELENA Consortium:
L B Andersen, S Anderssen, A J Atkin, G Cardon, R Davey, U Ekelund, D W Esliger, P Hallal, B H Hansen, K F Janz, S Kriemler, N Møller, K Northstone, R Pate, J J Puder, J Reilly, J Salmon, L B Sardinha, L B Sherar, E M F van Sluijs

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, PO Box 4014, Ullevål Stadion, 0806, Oslo, Norway. josteinst@nih.no.
² Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, PO Box 4014, Ullevål Stadion, 0806, Oslo, Norway.
³ Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, Bristol, UK.
⁴ Research Unit for Exercise Epidemiology and Centre of Research in Childhood Health, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
⁵ Epidemiology, Biostatistcs and Prevention Institute, University Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
⁶ Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
⁷ Obstetric service, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁸ Physical Activity for Health Group, School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.
⁹ Portugal, Exercise and Health Laboratory, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
¹⁰ Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) & MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
¹¹ Department of Sport, Food and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway.
¹² Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
¹³ Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany.
¹⁴ Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Neuherberg, Germany.
¹⁵ GENUD research group, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Insituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IIS Aragón), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Zaragoza, Spain.
¹⁶ Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
¹⁷ School of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
¹⁸ PAFS Research group, Faculty of Sports Sciences, UCLM, Ciudad Real, Spain.
¹⁹ Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
²⁰ Institute for Physical Education and Sport, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.
²¹ Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports Unit for obesity research Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
²² Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
²³ Department of Sport Science, High School of Education, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
²⁴ Institute of Health & Society and Human Nutrition Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
²⁵ Population Health Research Institute, St George's, University of London, London, UK.
²⁶ Department of Biomedicine and Public Health, School of Health and Education, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden.
²⁷ CREA Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Rome, Italy.
²⁸ National Research Council, Institute of Food Sciences, Avellino, Italy.
²⁹ Inserm, CHU Lille,U995 - LIRIC - Lille Inflammation Research International Center, CIC 1403 - Clinical Investigation Centre, University of Lille, F-59000, Lille, France.
³⁰ Research and Education Institute of Child Health, Strovolos, Cyprus.
³¹ National Institute for Health Development, Tervise Arengu Instituut, Tallin, Estonia.
³² University of Pecs, Medical Faculty, Pécs, Hungary.
³³ Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece.
³⁴ Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
³⁵ School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.

PMID: 32183834
PMCID: PMC7079516
DOI: 10.1186/s12966-020-00930-x

Variations in accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time across Europe - harmonized analyses of 47,497 children and adolescents

Jostein Steene-Johannessen et al. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2020.

. 2020 Mar 18;17(1):38.

doi: 10.1186/s12966-020-00930-x.

Authors

Collaborators

Determinants of Diet and Physical Activity knowledge hub (DEDIPAC); International Children’s Accelerometry Database (ICAD) Collaborators, IDEFICS Consortium and HELENA Consortium:
L B Andersen, S Anderssen, A J Atkin, G Cardon, R Davey, U Ekelund, D W Esliger, P Hallal, B H Hansen, K F Janz, S Kriemler, N Møller, K Northstone, R Pate, J J Puder, J Reilly, J Salmon, L B Sardinha, L B Sherar, E M F van Sluijs

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, PO Box 4014, Ullevål Stadion, 0806, Oslo, Norway. josteinst@nih.no.
² Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, PO Box 4014, Ullevål Stadion, 0806, Oslo, Norway.
³ Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, Bristol, UK.
⁴ Research Unit for Exercise Epidemiology and Centre of Research in Childhood Health, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
⁵ Epidemiology, Biostatistcs and Prevention Institute, University Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
⁶ Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
⁷ Obstetric service, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁸ Physical Activity for Health Group, School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.
⁹ Portugal, Exercise and Health Laboratory, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
¹⁰ Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) & MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
¹¹ Department of Sport, Food and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway.
¹² Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
¹³ Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen, Germany.
¹⁴ Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Neuherberg, Germany.
¹⁵ GENUD research group, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Insituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IIS Aragón), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Zaragoza, Spain.
¹⁶ Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
¹⁷ School of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
¹⁸ PAFS Research group, Faculty of Sports Sciences, UCLM, Ciudad Real, Spain.
¹⁹ Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
²⁰ Institute for Physical Education and Sport, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.
²¹ Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports Unit for obesity research Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
²² Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
²³ Department of Sport Science, High School of Education, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
²⁴ Institute of Health & Society and Human Nutrition Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
²⁵ Population Health Research Institute, St George's, University of London, London, UK.
²⁶ Department of Biomedicine and Public Health, School of Health and Education, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden.
²⁷ CREA Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Rome, Italy.
²⁸ National Research Council, Institute of Food Sciences, Avellino, Italy.
²⁹ Inserm, CHU Lille,U995 - LIRIC - Lille Inflammation Research International Center, CIC 1403 - Clinical Investigation Centre, University of Lille, F-59000, Lille, France.
³⁰ Research and Education Institute of Child Health, Strovolos, Cyprus.
³¹ National Institute for Health Development, Tervise Arengu Instituut, Tallin, Estonia.
³² University of Pecs, Medical Faculty, Pécs, Hungary.
³³ Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece.
³⁴ Department of Psychology, Estonian Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
³⁵ School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.

PMID: 32183834
PMCID: PMC7079516
DOI: 10.1186/s12966-020-00930-x

Abstract

Background: Levels of physical activity and variation in physical activity and sedentary time by place and person in European children and adolescents are largely unknown. The objective of the study was to assess the variations in objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time in children and adolescents across Europe.

Methods: Six databases were systematically searched to identify pan-European and national data sets on physical activity and sedentary time assessed by the same accelerometer in children (2 to 9.9 years) and adolescents (≥10 to 18 years). We harmonized individual-level data by reprocessing hip-worn raw accelerometer data files from 30 different studies conducted between 1997 and 2014, representing 47,497 individuals (2-18 years) from 18 different European countries.

Results: Overall, a maximum of 29% (95% CI: 25, 33) of children and 29% (95% CI: 25, 32) of adolescents were categorized as sufficiently physically active. We observed substantial country- and region-specific differences in physical activity and sedentary time, with lower physical activity levels and prevalence estimates in Southern European countries. Boys were more active and less sedentary in all age-categories. The onset of age-related lowering or leveling-off of physical activity and increase in sedentary time seems to become apparent at around 6 to 7 years of age.

Conclusions: Two third of European children and adolescents are not sufficiently active. Our findings suggest substantial gender-, country- and region-specific differences in physical activity. These results should encourage policymakers, governments, and local and national stakeholders to take action to facilitate an increase in the physical activity levels of young people across Europe.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 2**
a-c. Predicted physical activity level (95% CI) by age and sex for a) total physical activity (CPM); b) time spent in moderate to vigorous (MVPA) and c) time spent sedentary (SED). All estimates are adjusted for wear time (b and c), country, season, study year and ActiGraph models

**Fig. 3**
a Prevalence categories (≤ 19·9%, 20·0-24·9%, 25·0-29·9%, 30·0-34·9% and ≥35 %) of children being sufficiently physical active by country. b Prevalence categories (≤ 19·9%, 20·0-24·9%, 25·0-29·9%, 30·0-34·9% and ≥35 %) of adolescents being sufficiently physical active by country

See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Population-level physical activity surveillance in young people: are accelerometer-based measures ready for prime time?
Trost SG. Trost SG. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2020 Mar 18;17(1):28. doi: 10.1186/s12966-020-00929-4. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2020. PMID: 32183807 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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Variations in accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time across Europe - harmonized analyses of 47,497 children and adolescents

Collaborators

Affiliations

Variations in accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time across Europe - harmonized analyses of 47,497 children and adolescents

Authors

Collaborators

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

Comment in

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical