european college of sport science

Friday, June 26th, 2009
obtained from a smaller city in Germany [2]. Due to the similarities of the subjects, the rural environment can be considered as the determining
factor for more PA and enhanced motor skills. The link between daily PA and motor skills might increase in adults due to the lapse
of the institutionally organized school day.
Acknowledgements: we thank the motionlab-muenster for providing additional monitors.
[1] Bös et al., 2000, Haltung und Bewegung 20(2), 5-16.
[2] Uhlenbrock et al., 2008, Dtsch Z Sportmed 10, 228-33.
PEDOMETER-DETERMINED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS OF PORTUGUESE ADOLESCENTS. DIFFERENCES BY GENDER,
BODY MASS INDEX AND TIME OF WEEK
SEABRA, A.C., MAIA, J., FONSECA, A., SEABRA, A.
FACULTY OF SPORTS
Introduction: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescents is a major public health problem. A sedentary lifestyle is
implicated in the development of these conditions (Bouchard et al., 2006). Therefore it is essential to develop interventions that will increase
the physical activity levels (PAL) in adolescents. The aims of this study were: (1) to examine current levels of pedometer-determined
PAL in Portuguese adolescents and (2) to investigate the variation in PAL among weekday and weekend step counts, gender and body
mass index (BMI).
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the city of Matosinhos, northern Portugal, in 2008. A total of 345 adolescents of both
gender (girls-n=179; boys-n=166; mean age:13.6±1.2) attending basic schooling was surveyed. PAL was assessed using an electronic
pedometer (OMRON HJ-113-E) to measure mean steps counts for 5 consecutive days (2weekend/3weekdays). Adolescents were classified
as normal-weight, overweight, or obese using international BMI cut-off points suggested by Cole et al. (2000). Differences in adolescents
PAL between gender, BMI and time of week were assessed by ANOVA models. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0.
Results: (1) Mean step counts for this sample were 9871.7±3364.9 (girls) and 13159.1±4142.5 (boys) on weekdays, and 5081.5±3037.9
(girls) and 6396.8±3696.5 (boys) on weekends. (2) Significant differences in step counts were observed between weekdays and weekends
(P