Thesis-2009-Atkin.pdf (7.1 MB)
School gate to dinner plate : sedentary and physically active behaviours in adolescents after school
thesis
posted on 2013-11-11, 13:54 authored by Andrew J. AtkinAgainst a backdrop of rising overweight and obesity, there is a need to further our
understanding of physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns in young people to
aid the development of behaviour change strategies that may bring about an increase in
energy expenditure. Sedentary and active behaviours exhibit temporal patterning, thus
it may be beneficial to examine behaviour and associations between behaviours during
specific periods of the day This thesis presents five studies that examine sedentary and
physically active behaviours in adolescents during the three hours immediately after
school. Chapter 2, using data from a large study of adolescents in the UK, describes
physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns between 15.30h - 18.30h, and
examines the contribution of this period relative to broader leisure-time behaviour
patterns. In chapter 3.1, the' associations between a broad range of sedentary
behaviours and objectively assessed physical activity are examined during the after
school hours, providing unique insight into the interactions between behaviours at this
time. Chapter 3.2 explores the social and environmental context of selected sedentary
and active behaviours after school, enabling a more complete understanding of where
and with whom young people spend their time during these hours. Chapter 4 is a
systematic literature review of interventions to increase physical activity in young
people conducted in the hours immediately after school. Together, the four studies
described above established a rationale and informed the content of a pilot family-based
intervention to reduce screen-time and increase physical activity after school, presented
in Chapter 5. Approximately 40% of adolescents' leisure-time physical activity occurs
in the three hours immediately after school, suggesting that this is a critical period in
which young people obtain a significant proportion of their daily leisure-time activity.
However, sedentary behaviours, particularly screen-based media, account for the
majority of time-use during these hours, and may displace participation in physical
activity. The development of time-targeted intervention strategies, with a focus upon
the after school period, holds considerable promise for the promotion of physical
activity in young people.
History
School
- Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Publisher
© Andrew J. AtkinPublication date
2009Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough UniversityLanguage
- en