With increases in inactive lifestyles and mounting pressure for academic excellence in Chinese younger populations, lack of physical activity and increased prevalence of obesity have become a major public health concern in China. The purpose of this study is to provide updated estimates on the prevalence of meeting moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and screen viewing time guidelines, and overweight and obesity among Chinese school-aged children and adolescents, with a secondary aim examining variations in prevalence by sex, grade groupings, and residential location. The study sample came from the 2017 Physical Activity and Fitness in China—The Youth Study, a cross-sectional and national survey of 131,859 students (aged 7 to 19 years) from 986 public schools in China. Measures of MVPA, screen viewing time, and age- and sex-specific overweight and obese body mass index were used to calculate national prevalence estimates of Chinese school-aged children and adolescents. In 2017, 34.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 34.09–34.11%) of children and adolescents met MVPA guidelines and 65.4% (95% CI, 65.39–65.41%) adhered to screen viewing time guidelines. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 15.1% (95% CI, 15.09–15.11%) and 10.7% (95% CI, 10.69–10.71%), respectively. Prevalence estimates differed by sex (boys, girls), grade grouping (primary schools, junior middle schools, junior high schools), and residential location (rural, urban). There remains a low prevalence of meeting MVPA guidelines and high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Chinese school-aged children and adolescents. Future efforts should focus on monitoring the trend of these behavioral and health risk factors to inform school policies and programs aimed at increasing physical activity and reducing and preventing obesity in younger populations in China.

This study aimed to describe the national prevalence of Chinese children and adolescents who met the World Health Organization muscle-strengthening exercise (MSE) recommendations and identify correlates of meeting the MSE recommendations. Cross-sectional data from the 2019 Physical Activity and Fitness in China—The Youth Study, a nationally representative sample of Chinese children and adolescents (n = 80,413; mean age = 13.7 years; 53.9% girls) and their parents, were analyzed. Children and adolescents who reported engaging ≥3 days (up to 7 days) of MSE per week were classified as meeting the MSE recommendations. MSE, demographics, lifestyle behaviors (sport participation, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration), exercise intention, peer and parental support, and parental MSE participation were assessed through self-reports. Logistic regression models were used to determine the correlates of meeting the MSE recommendations. The analyses were completed in 2020. Overall, 39.3% of children and adolescents met the MSE recommendations. Girls, 10th–12th graders, minorities, those from lower income households and those from families with lower parental education were less likely to meet the MSE recommendations. Children and adolescents who were proficient in ≥2 sports were more likely to meet the MSE recommendations (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.44, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.26–1.65), as were those with more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (aOR = 1.57, 95%CI: 1.53–1.61). Additionally, children and adolescents with high exercise intention (aOR = 1.60, 95%CI: 1.51–1.69), those whose parents met the adult MSE recommendations (aOR = 1.46, 95%CI: 1.40–1.52), and those who received high peer (aOR = 1.27, 95%CI: 1.20–1.34) and parental support (aOR = 1.07, 95%CI: 1.04–1.12) were more likely to meet the MSE recommendations. Less than two-fifths of Chinese children and adolescents met the World Health Organization MSE recommendations. The correlates identified in our study can help inform the development of school and community based strategies and policies to enhance participation in MSE and improve muscular fitness of all Chinese children and adolescents.

We examined the correlations between living arrangement and the physical activity (PA) levels of youth aged 9–19 years while accounting for demographic factors such as age, sex, and socioeconomic status in Shanghai, China. Cross-sectional analyses of data from the 2014 Physical Activity and Fitness in Shanghai China—The Youth Study was conducted. Participants were 33,213 primary (9–11-year-olds; n = 13,237), junior middle (12–14-year-olds; n = 11,157), and junior high school students (15–19-year-olds; n = 8819). Youth (boys = 49%) and their guardians were randomly sampled from 17 districts in Shanghai, China. Youths’ moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) levels, information about living arrangement, and guardians’ sociodemographic factors were collected via questionnaires. Only 17.8% of school-aged youths in Shanghai met MVPA recommendations, with significantly more boys (20.6%) meeting recommendations than girls (p < .001). Youths living in rural areas showed an overall significantly higher percentage of meeting MVPA recommendations (20.3%) than those living in urban areas (p < .001). Youths who lived with single parents showed an overall significantly lower percentage of meeting MVPA recommendations (15.3%) than those living with their grandparent(s) or with both parents (p < .001). A logistic regression analysis revealed that, among 9–11-year-olds, children who live with their grandparent(s) were less likely to meet MVPA recommendations than those who lived with both parents (boys: adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.61–0.84; girls: aOR = 0.84, 95%CI = 0.72–0.98). Type of living arrangement was associated with the PA of youth in Shanghai, with no significant gender difference. Youth aged 9–19 years who lived with single parents had the lowest percentage of meeting MVPA recommendations. The probability of achieving 60 min/day MVPA recommendations was significantly lower among 9–11-year-old children living with their grandparent(s) than children living with both parents; however, no such difference was observed among adolescents. Our findings suggest that living arrangement may be an important consideration for promotion of PA among youth in China.

Background and purpose: The associations of fundamental motor skills (FMS), health-related physical fitness (e.g., cardiorespiratory fitness, CRF), and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) have been demonstrated in Western children, but these associations have not yet been validated in a sample of Chinese children. The aims of this study, therefore, were to examine the association between FMS subdomains and MVPA in a sample of Chinese children and to evaluate whether this association is mediated by CRF. Methods: A cross-sectional study consisting of 311 children aged 8–12 years (49.2% girls; mean age = 9.9 years) from Shanghai was conducted. FMS, CRF and MVPA were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-3rd Edition, Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run and ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers. Preacher & Hayes’s bootstrap method was used to test the mediating effects of CRF on the association between FMS and MVPA. Results: CRF fully mediated the association between total FMS and MVPA in girls (indirect effects, b = 0.21, 95% CI [0.07–0.37]), while the mediation was only partial in boys (indirect effects, b = 0.12, 95% CI [0.01–0.26]). CRF fully mediated the association between locomotor skills and MVPA in girls (indirect effects, b = 0.27, 95% CI [0.09– 0.51]), whereas CRF partially mediated the association between object control skills and MVPA in boys (indirect effects, b = 0.15, 95% CI [0.18–0.35]). Conclusion: In order to better design and implement sex-specific interventions aiming to increase MVPA, it is essential to consider FMS subdomains and CRF alongside the sex differences in the association between them.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review and evaluate the quality of fidelity of implementation (FOI) reported in experimental research in physical education pedagogy published in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education using a five-component conceptual framework. Methods: Thirty-five intervention studies were coded using a five-item FOI checklist with indicators. For each of the five items, frequencies and percentages were calculated. Results: Authors of intervention studies reported components of FOI including (a) 35 studies assessing program adherence, (b) eight studies assessing dosage/program durations, (c) 30 studies assessing program delivery quality, (d) eight studies assessing participant responses to program interventions, and (e) 19 studies assessing program differentiation. The most frequently reported FOI components were program adherence, program delivery quality, and program differentiation. Conclusions: Researchers have begun to realize the critical importance of FOI in intervention research. Most researchers selected certain FOI components to assess and report at their own discretion. Researchers may need to pay more attention to FOI. The five-component conceptual framework is one method for doing this assessment.