Physical Activity Measurement in Children Accepting Table Tennis Training

Summary

This study proposes an accelerometer-based method to objectively measure physical activity (PA) and leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in Chinese children accepting table tennis training in clubs.

Abstract

An increasing body of evidence now shows that the majority of children in China experience lower levels of physical activity (PA) than the recommended guideline. Table tennis is a compound and technically difficult game that is popular in China; undertaking table tennis training in clubs can help children to elevate their levels of PA. Given that children cannot complete self-evaluated questionnaires themselves and caregiver-based observations are not suitable for children, we hypothesized that an actigraphy-based method can be an objective method to measure PA. In the present study, we describe a procedure that can be used to evaluate PA levels using an actigraphic device and software. Furthermore, since hip-worn devices are known to reduce compliance, we attempted to assess the agreement between hip-worn and wrist-worn device data. Collectively, our results indicate that these devices are suitable for measuring PA and leisure time physical activity (LTPA) levels. Together with subjective questionnaires, both hip-worn and wrist-worn devices are highly suitable for evaluating PA in Chinese children undergoing table tennis training in clubs.

Introduction

Physical activity (PA) is very important in childhood and is positively associated with physical and mental health. It is well documented that PA is associated with beneficial effects in school-going children with regards to obesity, bone health, mental wellbeing, cognitive function, and academic achievements^1,2,3. However, most children in China still experience lower levels of PA than recommended for their age⁴; furthermore, sedentary time is known to increase with age. According to the National Physical Fitness and Health Surveillance Study for Stud....

Protocol

This study was approved by the Academic Ethics Committee of Inner Mongolia Medical University in Hohhot, China. The parents of all children included in this study provided signed and informed consent. In the study, we used the Actigraph GT3X+ device which is referred to as an accelerometer hereafter.

1. General aspects of method development

1. Obtain accelerometers to evaluate PA. The accelerometer is a small (3.3 cm x 4.6 cm x 1.5 cm, 19 g), watch-like unobtrusive device that measures acceleration in three axes: vertical, antero-posterior, and medio-lateral.
2. Connect the device to a laptop PC with USB cab....

Results

Demographic data are shown in Table 1, including gender, age, height, weight, ethnicity, and dominant hand. As shown in Table 1, there were no significant differences between the groups with regards to gender, age, height, weight, and dominant hand. Furthermore, participants from the Sports group did not exhibit any significantly different parameters in terms of sedentary behaviors (SB; 441.05 ± 31.80 vs 442.25 ± 30.74, P = 0.904), LPA (213.10 ± 15.00 vs 215.65 ± 17.41,.......

Discussion

As shown in Table 1, children in the Sports group exhibited a significantly higher VPA and MVPA (64.20 ± 2.33 vs 57.85 ± 3.36, P < 0.001) relative to those in the Control group. According to the findings of previous reports in both adolescents²⁵ and young adults²⁶, accelerometer devices represent an accurate method for the estimation of PA, relative to subjective surveys.

Bland-Altman plots demonstrated that there wer.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Actigraph	ActiGraph Corp	GT3X+	device
ActiLife	ActiGraph Corp	v6.13.3	software
SPSS 22.0 software			statistical analysis software