Physical activity habits of children aged 6-9 COSI

(1)

Healthy screen time and sleep

less than 2 hours

per day 9 to 11 hours

per night

1 Whiting S, Buoncristiano M, Gelius P et al. Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Sleep Duration of Children Aged 6-9 Years in 25 Countries: An Analysis within the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) 2015-2017. Obes Facts. 2021;14(1):32-44. doi: 10.1159/000511263.

Acronyms: ALB – Albania; BUL – Bulgaria; CRO-Croatia; CZH-Czechia; DEN-Denmark; EST-Estonia; FRA-France; GEO-Georgia; IRE-Ireland; ITA-Italy; KAZ-Kazakhstan; KGZ-Kyrgyzstan; LVA-Latvia;

LTU-Lithuania; MAT-Malta; MNE- Montenegro; POL-Poland; POR-Portugal; ROM-Romania; RUS-Moscow; SMR-San Marino; SPA-Spain; TJK-Tajikistan; TUR-Turkey; TKM-Turkmenistan.

Physical activity habits of children aged 6-9

in the WHO European region

This factsheet describes physical activity habits of children aged 6-9 years, using data from 25 countries participating in the 4th round of COSI (2015-2017, n=150,651 children).

The details of the analysis are described in a peer-reviewed paper by Whiting et al published in Obesity Facts1. Physical activity levels vary widely between countries.

Girls compared to boys were slightly less engaged in active play in 10 countries. In Central Asian countries more children actively travelled to school but were less likely to be a member of a sport or dancing club compared to countries in Southern Europe.

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0 MNE 96.4

ROM 95.3

BUL 92.8

LTU 92.7

CRO 92.0

POR 87.0

LVA 85.2

TUR 71.7

SPA 71.0 IRE

85.0

DEN 72.2

KAZ 70.6 RUS

91.2 GEO 90.0

ALB 88.7 KGZ 88.7

MAT 61.7 TJK 64.1 POL

82.2 TKM 82.0 CZH

98.3

Percentage of children actively playing for at least 1 hour per day

Pooled estimate (%): 79.4 [95%CI: 78.2-80.4]

79.4%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0 TKM 80.5

KGZ 71.5

KAZ 70.9

RUS 65.7

ALB 61.1

BUL 45.3

CZH 44.5

LTU 36.6

DEN 35.9 CRO

42.3

EST 34.2 TUR

60.2 SPA 51.8

GEO 47.8 ROM 50.0

IRE 20.4 MNE

38.6

MAT 18.6 LVA 34.0 FRA

39.9 POL 39.1 TJK

94.0

POR 17.7

Percentage of children who exclusively used active transport (walking or cycling) to get to and from school

50.0%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0 TJK 84.2

TUR 83.1

TKM 73.5

ROM 64.4

ALB 60.5

POR 48.0

LTU 38.6

CRO 32.2

RUS 32.0 CZH

36.9

EST 32.4

FRA 31.8 BUL

59.4 KAZ 56.0

GEO 50.7 MNE 52.2

IRE 25.2

ITA 20.4

LVA 19.6

SMR DEN 17.0 SPA

31.0 MAT

33.9 POL 33.4 KGZ

85.6 8.2

Percentage of children who were not members of sports/

dancing clubs or did not practise sports or dance at all

53.9%

COSI

^CHILDHOOD^OBESITYSURVEILLANCE INITIATIVE

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About COSI

The WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (or COSI) is a unique system that for over 10 years has measured trends in overweight and obesity among primary school aged children. COSI involves taking standardized weight and height measurements from over 300 000 children across the WHO European Region every three years. This provides nationally representative data for participating countries, as well as a large Region-wide data set for analysis of the determinants of childhood overweight and obesity. This vital collaboration between the World Health Organization and research institutions from across Europe provides high-quality data that is needed to inform policy and practice in response to the challenge of childhood overweight and obesity.

For more information about COSI and recent publications please visit http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/

nutrition/activities/who-european-childhood-obesity-surveillance-

initiative-cosi Countries included in the analysis Countries not included in the analysis but participated in COSI Round 4

Children’s physical activity habits vary across countries in the WHO European region

This variation is likely due to a multitude of factors; including differences in policy, built environment, availability of facilities, culture and climate. In some countries boys seemed to be more active than girls, while others saw the opposite.

WHO recommends that children aged 6-9 average 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity every day.

Limiting screen time and achieving optimal sleep duration is also important for good physical and mental health.

Policymakers have a key role to play in enhancing the affordability and accessibility of physical activity for children. The variation between countries found in this study demonstrates opportunities for national policymakers to learn from experiences across the region and implement what works.

Policy implications

COSI

^CHILDHOOD^OBESITYSURVEILLANCE INITIATIVE

WHO has called on policy-makers in the European region to promote wellbeing in children through:

Nationwide implementation and monitoring of regular, high quality, age appropriate physical education in schools Promoting physical activity among school children through

diverse means; such as making sure playgrounds are available and safe, training staff to deliver active breaks and investing in safe walking and cycling routes to facilitate active transport Ensuring available public open spaces and recreational facilities,

and fostering collaboration between sport, health and education sectors to promote out of school physical activity

‘Sport-for-all’ approaches with incentive schemes for children in low socioeconomic groups

Providing clear public health recommendations for physical activity, screen time and sleep

Surveillance of physical activity among children that includes sex disaggregated data and qualitative exploration of disparities Evaluations of existing strategies to promote physical activity

targeting young people.

All of the above activities were fully or partially funded through a grant of the Russian Government in the context of the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases The designations employed and the presentation of this material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries.