Overall , total PA was favourably associated with physical , psychological/social , and cognitive health indicators .
Relationships were more consistent and robust for higher ( e.g. , MVPA ) versus lower ( e.g. , LPA ) intensity PA .
All patterns of activity ( sporadic , bouts , continuous ) provided benefit .
LPA was favourably associated with cardiometabolic biomarkers ; data were scarce for other outcomes .
These findings continue to support the importance of at least 60 min/day of MVPA for disease prevention and health promotion in children and youth , but also highlight the potential benefits of LPA and total PA .
Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity ( MVPA ) is essential for disease prevention and health promotion .
Emerging evidence suggests other intensities of physical activity ( PA ) , including light-intensity activity ( LPA ) , may also be important , but there has been no rigorous evaluation of the evidence .
The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the relationships between objective ly measured PA ( total and all intensities ) and health indicators in school-aged children and youth .
Online data bases were search ed for peer- review ed studies that met the a priori inclusion criteria : population ( apparently healthy , aged 5 - 17 years ) , intervention/exposure/comparator ( volumes , duration s , frequencies , intensities , and patterns of objective ly measured PA ) , and outcome ( body composition , cardiometabolic biomarkers , physical fitness , behavioural conduct/pro-social behaviour , cognition/academic achievement , quality of life/well-being , harms , bone health , motor skill development , psychological distress , self-esteem ) .
Canadian children's and youth's pedometer-determined steps/day, parent-reported TV watching time, and overweight/obesity: The CANPLAY Surveillance Study
Background This study examines associations between pedometer-determined steps/day and parent-reported child 's Body Mass Index ( BMI )  and time typically spent watching television between school and dinner . Methods Young people ( aged 5 - 19 years ) were recruited through their parents by r and om digit dialling and mailed a data collection package . Information on height and weight and time spent watching television between school and dinner on a typical school day was collected from parents . In total , 5949 boys and 5709 girls reported daily steps .  BMI was categorized as overweight or obese using Cole 's cut points . Participants wore pedometers for 7 days and logged daily steps . The odds of being overweight and obese by steps/day and parent-reported time spent television watching were estimated using logistic regression for complex sample s. Results Girls had a lower median steps/day ( 10682 versus 11059 for boys ) and also a narrower variation in steps/day ( interquartile range , 4410 versus 5309 for boys ) . 11 % of children aged 5 - 19 years were classified as obese ; 17 % of boys and girls were overweight . Both boys and girls watched , on average , < 40 minutes of television between school and dinner on school days . Adjusting for child 's age and sex and parental education , the odds of a child being obese decreased by 20 % for every extra 3000 steps/day and increased by 21 % for every 30 minutes of television watching . There was no association of being overweight with steps/day , however the odds of being overweight increased by 8 % for every 30 minutes of additional time spent watching television between school and dinner on a typical school day . Discussion Television viewing is the more prominent factor in terms of predicting overweight , and it contributes to obesity , but steps/day attenuates the association between television viewing and obesity , and therefore can be considered protective against obesity . In addition to replacing opportunities for active alternative behaviours , exposure to television might also impact body weight by promoting excess energy intake . Conclusions In this large nationally representative sample , pedometer-determined steps/day was associated with reduced odds of being obese ( but not overweight ) whereas each parent-reported hour spent watching television between school and dinner increased the odds of both overweight and obesity
Overall , total PA was favourably associated with physical , psychological/social , and cognitive health indicators .
Relationships were more consistent and robust for higher ( e.g. , MVPA ) versus lower ( e.g. , LPA ) intensity PA .
All patterns of activity ( sporadic , bouts , continuous ) provided benefit .
LPA was favourably associated with cardiometabolic biomarkers ; data were scarce for other outcomes .
These findings continue to support the importance of at least 60 min/day of MVPA for disease prevention and health promotion in children and youth , but also highlight the potential benefits of LPA and total PA .
Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity ( MVPA ) is essential for disease prevention and health promotion .
Emerging evidence suggests other intensities of physical activity ( PA ) , including light-intensity activity ( LPA ) , may also be important , but there has been no rigorous evaluation of the evidence .
The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the relationships between objective ly measured PA ( total and all intensities ) and health indicators in school-aged children and youth .
Online data bases were search ed for peer- review ed studies that met the a priori inclusion criteria : population ( apparently healthy , aged 5 - 17 years ) , intervention/exposure/comparator ( volumes , duration s , frequencies , intensities , and patterns of objective ly measured PA ) , and outcome ( body composition , cardiometabolic biomarkers , physical fitness , behavioural conduct/pro-social behaviour , cognition/academic achievement , quality of life/well-being , harms , bone health , motor skill development , psychological distress , self-esteem ) .