Abstract
BACKGROUND: Strategic health interventions must be guided by effective surveillance systems that monitor population trends and patterns, therefore we aimed to provide youth's (6-14 years) national prevalence estimates of physical activity (PA), active outdoor play (AOP), sedentary behaviur (SB), and structured PA (SPA). METHODS: Measures of moderate-to-vigorous PA, SB, AOP, and SPA, were obtained for 719 participants in 2 groups (6-9 and 10-14 years) using diaries and questionnaires. National estimates were calculated, by sex, region, and parental education. RESULTS: While 54% (95%CI: 47.4-61.3) of youth meet PA recommendations, the prevalence is lower for the older group (P = .034). Similarly, AOP decreases with age both on weekends, from 94.3% (95%CI: 90.8-97.8) to 68.7% (95%CI: 62.2-75.1), and on weekdays from 84% (95%CI: 76.5-91.5) to 64.8% (95%CI: 59-70.6). Watching TV for ≥2 h/day is extremely high on weekends [71.3% (95%CI: 65.4-77.2)] and more prevalent in boys than girls on weekdays (P = .043). Higher parental education significantly increased SPA and active time. Time in SB was greater in boys [7.26 h (95%CI: 6.87-7.65)] than girls [6.48 h (95%CI: 6.09-6.87)] and increased with age (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Almost half of the youth failed to achieve PA guidelines, whereas 71% exceeded recommended TV time on weekends, suggesting the urgency of intervention measures.