Gender and age differences in the association between living arrangement and physical activity levels among youth aged 9-19 years in Shanghai, China: A cross-sectional questionnaire study

Abstract

Background: We examined the correlations between living arrangement and the physical activity (PA) levels of youth aged 9-19 years while accounting for demographic factors such as age, sex, and socioeconomic status in Shanghai, China. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses of data from the 2014 Physical Activity and Fitness in Shanghai China - The Youth Study was conducted. Participants were 33,213 primary (9-11-year-olds; n = 13,237), junior middle (12-14-year-olds; n = 11,157), and junior high school students (15-19-year-olds; n = 8819). Youth (boys = 49%) and their guardians were randomly sampled from 17 districts in Shanghai, China. Youths' moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) levels, information about living arrangement, and guardians' sociodemographic factors were collected via questionnaires. Results: Only 17.8% of school-aged youths in Shanghai met MVPA recommendations, with significantly more boys (20.6%) meeting recommendations than girls (p