Dataset Information

Friendship Network Characteristics Are Associated with Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Early Adolescence.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

There is limited understanding of the association between peer social networks and physical activity (PA), sedentary and screen-related behaviors. This study reports on associations between personal network characteristics and these important health behaviors for early adolescents.

Methods

Participants were 310 students, aged 11-13 years, from fifteen randomly selected Victorian primary schools (43% response rate). PA and sedentary behaviors were collected via accelerometer and self-report questionnaire, and anthropometric measures via trained researchers. Participants nominated up to fifteen friends, and described the frequency of interaction and perceived activity intensity of these friends. Personal network predictors were examined using regression modelling for PA and sedentary/screen behavior.

Results

Perceived activity levels of friends, and friendships with very frequent interaction were associated with outside-of-school PA and/or sedentary/screen time. Differences according to sex were also observed in the association between network characteristics and PA and sedentary time. A higher number of friends and greater proportion of same sex friends were associated with boys engaging in more moderate-to-vigorous PA outside of school hours. PA intensity during school-day breaks was positively associated with having a greater proportion of friends who played sports for girls, and a greater proportion of male friends for boys.

Conclusion

Friendship network characteristics are associated with PA and sedentary/screen time in late childhood/early adolescence, and these associations differ by sex. The positive influence of very active peers may be a promising avenue to strengthen traditional interventions for the promotion of PA and reduction in screen time.

SUBMITTER: Marks J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4692398 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Friendship Network Characteristics Are Associated with Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Early Adolescence.

Marks Jennifer J de la Haye Kayla K Barnett Lisa M LM Allender Steven S

PloS one 20151228 12

<h4>Introduction</h4>There is limited understanding of the association between peer social networks and physical activity (PA), sedentary and screen-related behaviors. This study reports on associations between personal network characteristics and these important health behaviors for early adolescents.<h4>Methods</h4>Participants were 310 students, aged 11-13 years, from fifteen randomly selected Victorian primary schools (43% response rate). PA and sedentary behaviors were collected via acceler ...[more]

PMID: 26709924

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Project description:BackgroundThe constructs and interdependency of physical behaviors are not well described and the complexity of physical activity (PA) data analysis remains unexplored in COPD. This study examined the interrelationships of 24-hour physical behaviors and investigated their associations with participant characteristics for individuals with mild-moderate airflow obstruction and healthy control subjects.Patients and methodsVigorous PA (VPA), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), light PA (LPA), stationary time (ST), average movement intensity (vector magnitude counts per minute), and sleep duration for 109 individuals with COPD and 135 healthy controls were obtained by wrist-worn accelerometry. Principal components analysis (PCA) examined interrelationships of physical behaviors to identify distinct behavioral constructs. Using the PCA component loadings, linear regressions examined associations with participant (+, positive correlation; -, negative correlation), and were compared between COPD and healthy control groups.ResultsFor both groups PCA revealed ST, LPA, and average movement intensity as distinct behavioral constructs to MVPA and VPA, labeled "low-intensity movement" and "high-intensity movement," respectively. Sleep was also found to be its own distinct behavioral construct. Results from linear regressions supported the identification of distinct behavioral constructs from PCA. In COPD, low-intensity movement was associated with limitations with mobility (-), daily activities (-), health status (+), and body mass index (BMI) (-) independent of high-intensity movement and sleep. High-intensity movement was associated with age (-) and self-care limitations (-) independent of low-intensity movement and sleep. Sleep was associated with gender (0= female, 1= male; [-]), lung function (-), and percentage body fat (+) independent of low-intensity and high-intensity movement.ConclusionDistinct behavioral constructs comprising the 24-hour day were identified as "low-intensity movement," "high-intensity movement," and "sleep" with each construct independently associated with different participant characteristics. Future research should determine whether modifying these behaviors improves health outcomes in COPD.

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Dataset Information

Friendship Network Characteristics Are Associated with Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Early Adolescence.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Friendship Network Characteristics Are Associated with Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Early Adolescence.

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