Seasonal Variation In Physical Activity Levels Among Elementary School Children In The Arctic Areas.: 2971 Board #17 May 31 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

PURPOSE: To compare elementary school children’s physical activity levels during two different season in Northern Norway. METHODS: Elementary school children from 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th grade were recruited to wear an accelerometer (GT3X-BT, ActiGraph, LLC, Pensacola, United States) for seven consecutive days during two different seasons: The winter season in November (n= 235), and the summer season in June (n= 214). The primary physical activity outcome was measured as total counts per minute and time spent at different activity intensities. We defined moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as >2000 counts per min, as previously used (Ekelund et al., 2004). RESULTS: Girls had more counts per min during the measured week in the summer season (616 ± 380.5) compared to the winter season (589 ± 124.8) (p<0.001), while there was no significant differences among boys. Boys spent more time in MVPA during the winter season (71.5 minutes ± 26.7) compared to the summer season (61.5 minutes ± 12.9) (p<0.05). Children in 7th grade spent more time in MVPA during the winter season (64.6 minutes ± 26.1) compared to the summer season (44.9 minutes ± 23.6) (p<0.001). There were no differences between sexes for time spent in MVPA or counts per min (p<0.05) during the winter season, except for counts per min in 1st grade (p<0.05). During weekdays in the winter season, 53.1% of the children reached MVPA of ≥60 minutes physical activity daily. In weekdays during the summer season, 62.5% of the children reached MVPA ≥60 minutes. CONCLUSION: Girls had more counts per minute during the summer season compared to the winter season, but there were no differences in time spent in MVPA. Boys spend more time in MVPA during the winter season compared to the summer season. 62.5% met the recommended 60 min per day of MVPA during the summer compared to the winter where 53.1% met the recommendations.