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 ) .
Physical activity and femoral neck bone strength during childhood: the Iowa Bone Development Study.
Structural adaptations of bone to changing mechanical loads have recently been documented during adolescence . However , little is known about how bone adapts structurally during the earlier years . Using a longitudinal observational design spanning 6 years of growth ( age range 4 to 12 years ) , we investigated associations between everyday physical activity and hip geometry in a cohort of healthy Midwestern children ( n=468 ) . Femoral neck ( FN ) cross sectional area ( CSA , cm(2 ) ) and FN section modulus ( Z , cm(3 ) ) were used to describe hip geometry . CSA and Z , indices of axial and bending strength , were assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry ( DXA ) scans and the hip structure analysis ( HSA ) program . Moderate and vigorous physical activity ( MVPA ) was assessed using accelerometry-based activity monitors and calculated as the number of minutes > or = 3000 accelerometry movement counts . Data were analyzed using multilevel ( r and om- and fixed-effects ) regression models with adjustment for age ( year ) , height ( cm ) , and weight ( kg ) or lean mass ( kg ) . For boys and girls , MVPA was a positive independent predictor of CSA and Z ( p<0.05 ) . On average , children who participated in 40 min of MVPA per day would be expected to have 3 % to 5 % greater CSA and Z than peers participating in 10 min of MVPA per day . Ten-minute increases in daily MVPA had similar effects on CSA in girls and Z in boys as did each additional 1 kg of body weight . When lean mass was substituted for weight , MVPA continued to be a positive independent predictor of CSA and Z for boys , but not girls . This study demonstrates that everyday amounts of physical activity in children are associated with indices of FN bone strength during childhood . Differences in lean mass mediate associations between physical activity and hip geometry in girls , but only somewhat in boys . These results suggest that physical activity is an important contributor to bone strength prior to adolescence and that increasing levels of physical activity during childhood are likely to enhance optimal bone strength
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 ) .