Tracking of Physical Activity, Sport Participation, and Sedentary Behaviors over Four Years of High School

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 10; no. 9; p. 3104
• Main Authors: Štefan, Lovro, Mišigoj-Duraković, Marjeta, Devrnja, Antonela, Podnar, Hrvoje, Petrić, Vilko, Sorić, Maroje
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 31.08.2018
• Subjects: Adolescents; Correlation analysis; Participation; Physical activity; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Secondary schools; Sustainability; Youth
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su10093104

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the extent of tracking of physical activity (PA), sports participation (SP), and sedentary behaviors (SB) over four years of high school education among the Croatian Physical Activity in Adolescence Longitudinal Study (CRO-PALS) cohort. Methods: In this investigation, participants were 844 high school students (15.6 years at baseline; 49% girls). The SHAPES questionnaire was used to assess PA, SP, and SB at ages 15, 16, 17, and 18 and tracking was assessed using generalized estimating equations. Results: Tracking coefficients for PA were similar in both sexes, ranged from 0.49 to 0.61, and indicated moderate tracking, while the tracking of SB tended to be somewhat higher over the four years of follow-up (β = 0.60–0.72). Youth that participated in sports at baseline had a 16 to 28 times higher odds of continued participation at follow-up, depending on the type of sport and gender. Finally, both low physical activity and high screen time showed strong tracking in both genders. Conclusion: PA and SB tracked moderately between ages 15 and 18. Moreover, the strong tracking of low PA and high screen time indicates that the detection of these risk factors at the beginning of high school should be advocated.