Physical activity of Czech schoolchildren in the autumn season

Abstract

The aim of the study was to measure and subsequently evaluate the quantitative and qualitative factors of physical activity (PA) of primary school pupils in the Czech Republic in the autumn period using an objective method and to assess whether these factors differ significantly before and after clock shift from the summer time (Daylight Savings Time) to winter time. The data were acquired from 37 pupils (20 boys, 17 girls) aged 10–13, at primary schools in Brno (CZE) in the period from 22 October to 26 October 2014 and subsequently from 12 November to 16 November 2014. PA was measured using the Actigraph GT3X accelerometer (Actigraph corp., USA) in the week when the clocks were changed, on 26 October 2014 and two weeks later. Three business days and two weekend days were measured. The monitored characteristics included those related to energy output, movement time according to intensity and the number of steps. Changes in measured characteristics after the clock shift were tested statistically using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Throughout the business days the pupils demonstrated more than med > 10000 steps a day and MVPA did not fall under med > 60 min/day. However, during the weekend these values did not exceed 6600 steps a day 39 min MVPA/day. When comparing the results of all the investigated PA factors before and after the clock shift, significant differences have been found only in boys during business days for moderate PA (p = 0.02) and MVPA (p = 0.04). The study has revealed substantial differences between PA of children during business days when compared to days off in the autumn period. However, the changes in the PA structure before and after the winter clock shift have only been diagnosed at the level of moderate PA and MVPA in boys, even though the daytime duration has been reduced significantly by more than one hour from 10 hours 23 minutes before to 9 hours and 16 minutes after the clock shift.