It's A-bout Time: Detailed Patterns of Physical Activity in Obese Adolescents Participating in a Lifestyle Intervention.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The detailed patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviors of overweight and obese adolescents are unknown, but may be important for health outcomes and targeted intervention design. METHODS: Participants completed Curtin University's Activity, Food and Attitudes Program (CAFAP), an 8-week intervention with 12 months of maintenance intervention. Physical activity and sedentary time were assessed at 6 time periods with accelerometers and were analysed by 1) time and type of day 2) intensity bout patterns using exposure variation analysis, and 3) individual case analysis. RESULTS: Participants (n=56) spent a lower percentage of time at baseline in light activity during school days compared to weekend days (24.4% vs 29.0%, p=.004). The majority of time was in long uninterrupted sedentary bouts of greater than 30 minutes (26.7% of total time, 36.8% of sedentary time at baseline). Moderate activity was accumulated in short bouts of less than 5 minutes (3.1% of total time, 76.0% moderate time). Changes varied by individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure variation analysis revealed specific changes in activity patterns in overweight and obese adolescents who participated in a lifestyle intervention. A better understanding of these patterns can help to design interventions that meaningfully affect specific behaviors, with unique health consequences.