11-vuotiaiden lasten liikunta-aktiivisuus : WHO-Koululaistutkimus

Physical activeness of 11-yeard-old children – HBSC Study Lehto Anna Pauliina Master`s Thesis of Health Education Peltola Maija Elisabet Thesis, Advanced Studies, Health Education University of Jyvaskyla, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Department of Health Sciences 2014 Pages 87, appendixes 1 The objective of this study was to analyze how physically active 11-year-old boys and girls are, what kinds of sports they do and which factors influence their physical activity. The differences between genders were also surveyed within these factors. Moreover, the associations between the gender, the place of residence, the reasons for doing sports and the overall time that was spent on physical activities was to be defined. The study was based on the data from the 2010 HBSC Study. Questions about background information, overall activity, activity during free time and the types and reasons for exercise of 11-year-old (n=2463) children were analyzed. The frequency distribution, cross-tabulation,  2 -test, t-test, factor analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were used to answer research questions. More than a third of the boys and a fourth of the girls were active for more than an hour a day, which means that boys reach the official recommendations of physical activity more often than girls. More than a third of the boys and a fourth of the girls were active for more than an hour a day. More than a one third of the boys and less than a third of the girls were active in order to get out of breath and sweaty, four to six times a week during their free time. The three most popular summer sports among the boys were football, cycling and swimming, and among the girls swimming, cycling and running. The most popular winter sports among the boys were skiing, skating and ice hockey, and among the girls skating, skiing and downhill skiing. The main reasons for the boys to do sports were fun, fitness and friends, for the girls the reasons were friends, health and fun. The most important factor for childrens exercising was socializing and having fun which was the only reason that was associated with the overall time spent on exercising. The gender, place of residence and other reasons for excercising were not associated with children s overall physical activeness. When comparing the results of the 2002 and 2006 HBSC Study, it was found that the percentage of 11-year-old children meeting the recommendations of physical activity had decreased. Differences between genders have not changed and boys are more active than girls. Types of sport seems to have stayed traditional but the reasons for sport have changed; desire to win and to compete with other are no longer so important. For children seeing friends and having fun are more important. Schools, sport clubs and other organizations which plans and provides sport services for children should make sure that all children can practice both, competitive sports and sport as a hobby.