Goodman, A;
Paskins, J;
Mackett, R;
(2012)
Day length and weather effects on children's physical activity and participation in play, sports, and active travel.
Journal of Physical Activity and Health
, 9
(8)
pp. 1105-1116.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Children in primary school are more physically active in the spring/summer. Little is known about the relative contributions of day length and weather, however, or about the underlying behavioral mediators. METHODS: 325 British children aged 8 to 11 wore accelerometers as an objective measure of physical activity, measured in terms of mean activity counts. Children simultaneously completed diaries in which we identified episodes of out-of-home play, structured sports, and active travel. Our main exposure measures were day length, temperature, rainfall, cloud cover, and wind speed. RESULTS: Overall physical activity was higher on long days (≥ 14 hours daylight), but there was no difference between short (< 9.5 hours) and medium days (10.2-12.6 hours). The effect of long day length was largest between 5 PM and 8 PM, and persisted after adjusting for rainfall, cloud cover, and wind. Up to half this effect was explained by a greater duration and intensity of out-of-home play on long days; structured sports and active travel were less affected by day length. CONCLUSIONS: At least above a certain threshold, longer afternoon/evening daylight may have a causal role in increasing child physical activity. This strengthens the public health arguments for daylight saving measures such as those recently under consideration in Britain.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Day length and weather effects on children's physical activity and participation in play, sports, and active travel |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | http://journals.humankinetics.com/jpah-back-issues... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2012 Human Kinetics, Inc. This is an Open Access article. |
| Keywords: | Accelerometry, Child, England, Exercise, Humans, Photoperiod, Play and Playthings, Public Health, Seasons, Sports, Weather |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Civil, Environ and Geomatic Eng |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1379046 |
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