Is school-environment and degree of urbanization supportive for being more physically active and less sedentary?

Abstract

Background: Young people spend half of their days in school, but evidence concerning the influence of school environment and degree of urbanization on physical activity (PA) and screen-based (SB) activities is still inconsistent. Our aim was to assess whether the accessibility of sport facilities at school, active breaks and the degree of urbanization were associated with PA and SB activities among Slovak adolescents and whether these associations were modified by degree of urbanization. Methods: We obtained data from 5th to 9th grade students in 2014 via the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children cross-sectional study in Slovakia (n=9,743, mean age=13.5, 50.3% boys). Using multilevel logistic regression we explored the associations of accessibility of sport facilities at school, active breaks at school and the degree of urbanization with PA and SB activities, adjusted for age and gender. Findings: We found significant associations between PA and the accessibility of an area for skating/tennis court (odds ratio, OR=1.20; 95%-confidence interval, CI 1.01-1.42), and between PA and active breaks (OR=0.83, 95%-CI 0.69-0.99). SB activities were more likely in small towns (OR=1.63, 95%CI 1.29–2.06), towns (OR=1.30, 95%CI 1.08–1.57), and cities (OR=1.40, 95%CI 1.04–1.87) than in villages. Discussion: School-environment and degree of urbanization are associated with adolescent’s PA and SB behaviour. This holds for access to an area for skating/tennis court and active breaks regarding PA and living in villages regarding less use of screens. Public health strategies and interventions should account for these school and environmental factors.