Physical activity and inactivity among children and adolescents: Assessment, trends, and correlates

Abstract

Physically active and physically inactive behaviors are important in the daily lives of children and adolescents. Both have implications for fitness and health, learning, enjoyment, social interactions, and physical and psychological development. Physically active behaviors are also essential to subsistence in many parts of the developing world, and children and adolescents contribute to these efforts on a regular basis. In these contexts, several aspects of physical activity and inactivity among children and adolescents are discussed: assessment and measurement; current levels of physical activity and inactivity among youth; recent trends in physical activity across time; recent trends in physical inactivity across time; correlates of physical activity and inactivity; and fitness and health benefits of regular physical activity. There is a need for more detailed understanding of meanings attached to and motivations for physically active and sedentary behaviors, and of potential correlates - demographic, biological, psychosocial and cultural, and their interactions.