(PS6-C67) Youth Engagement in Physical Activity Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Physical activity is critical for maintaining physical health and is consistently linked with better mental health outcomes. Regular physical activity can lower the risk of developing burdensome chronic health conditions (e.g., obesity, hypertension), which are becoming increasingly prevalent among youth populations. Despite the clear benefits of physical activity, there remains a gap in our understanding of how youth engage in physical activity and what percentage of this population meets the recommended guidelines. For children aged 6-17 years old, the current recommendation is 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily, yet there is no recommended target of daily steps for this population. Using the ABCD dataset, this study aimed to explore the health behaviors among youth by 1) determining what percentage of youth meet the minimum physical activity recommendations; 2) observing the average number of daily steps taken by youth; and 3) examining demographic factors that may play a role in observed physical activity.

Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of a multi-site nationwide longitudinal study in which children aged 9-10 years old (n = 4,974) wore a Fitbit Charge HR activity monitor continuously for a 1-week monitoring period. Participants in this sample were recruited from November 2018 through March 2020, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics were calculated to report youth’s parent-reported race/ethnicity, biological sex, and gender identity. T-tests were used to examine differences in steps and MVPA by biological sex.

Results: Analyses showed that mean MVPA was 38.93 minutes per day (SD = 35.541), with only 22% of the sample engaging in the recommended ≥ 60 minutes of MVPA daily. Mean steps per day were 9784.53 (SD = 3353.569), and 57% of youth averaged less than 10,000 steps per day. Differences in both indexes of physical activity were found when comparing demographic factors. Biological males (M = 52.05, SD = 38.192) and biological females (M = 25.09, SD = 23.244) showed a significant difference (t[4251.07] = 30.252, p < .001) in MVPA minutes observed. There was also a significant difference (t[4781.904] = 18.089, p < .001) between steps per day observed in biological males (M = 10590.90, SD = 3622.903) and biological females (M = 8934.19, SD = 2803.611).

Conclusion: Data showed that youth in this sample are engaging in less than the recommended number of MVPA minutes per day, with 78% of children failing to meet recommendations. Girls in the study show substantially lower physical activity levels compared to boys, with average MVPA levels falling below the recommended threshold of 60 minutes per day and failing to even reach the lower threshold of 30 minutes per day, which is associated with mental and physical benefits. Childhood physical activity levels have been linked to adiposity, skeletal health, and lowering the risk for health conditions like cardiovascular disease, anxiety, and depression. Future research should investigate the relationship between MVPA and steps per day to inform recommended daily step targets for youth, and further explore effective ways to promote engagement in physical activity among youth, particularly among girls.