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.

Meeting 24-h movement guidelines by children and adolescents has been associated with improved indicators of health, although it has been under-studied in China. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of meeting the 24-h movement guidelines, its correlates, and its relationships with body mass index in children and adolescents in China. Cross-sectional data from the 2017 Youth Study in China of 114,072 children and adolescents (mean age = 13.75 years, 49.18% boys) were used. Meeting 24-h movement guidelines (≥60 min of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, ≤2 h of daily leisure screen time, 9-11 h and 8-10 h nightly sleep duration for 6-13-year-olds and 14-17-year-olds, respectively) and height and weight of all participants were assessed. The prevalence of meeting the 24-h movement guidelines and World Health Organization weight status categories were determined. Generalized linear models were used to determine the correlates of meeting the 24-h movement guidelines and the relationships of meeting the 24-h movement guidelines with overweight (OW) and obesity (OB). Only 5.12% of Chinese children and adolescents met the 24-h movement guidelines, and 22.44% were classified as OW/OB. Older children and adolescents were less likely to meet the 24-h movement guidelines. Parental education level and family income were positively related to meeting the 24-h movement guidelines. Children and adolescents meeting the 24-h movement guidelines showed lower odds ratios for OW/OB. Compared with participants meeting the 24-h movement guidelines, boys in 4th-6th grades met none of the recommendations (OR = 1.22, 95%CI: 1.06-1.40), met the screen time recommendation only (OR = 1.13, 95%CI: 1.01-1.28), met the nightly sleep duration recommendation only (OR = 1.14, 95%CI: 1.03-1.28), and had significantly higher odds ratios for OW/OB. Similar trends were observed for girls in 4th-6th grades: meeting none of the guidelines (OR = 1.35, 95%CI: 1.14-1.59), meeting sleep duration guidelines only (OR = 1.23, 95%CI: 1.08-1.39), and meeting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity + nightly sleep duration guidelines (OR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.01-1.54). For girls in 7th-9th grades, the following trend was observed: meeting none of the guidelines (OR = 1.30, 95%CI: 1.01-1.67). Very few Chinese children and adolescents met the 24-h movement guidelines. Age (negatively correlated), parental education level, and family income (both positively correlated) were correlates of meeting the 24-h movement guidelines. Children and adolescents meeting the 24-h movement guidelines were more likely to have lower risks for OW/OB, especially in the youngest age group (Grades 4-6); and girls in the middle age group (Grades 7-9) were also more likely to have lower risks for OW/OB. Further research studies should explore additional correlates and determinants for meeting the 24-h movement guidelines. Also, future studies should use longitudinal or interventional designs to determine the relationships between meeting the 24-h movement guidelines and OW/OB and other health indicators, while taking sex and age differences into account.

Preschool-aged children are in a critical period of developing fundamental movement skills (FMS). FMS have a close link with physical activity (PA). This study aimed to systematically review the associations between FMS and PA in preschool-aged children. Searching Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and EBSCO (including SPORTDiscus, ERIC, and Academic Search Premier) was utilized to conduct a systematic review of the available literature. Studies were included if they examined associations between FMS and PA among typically developing children aged 3–6 years, published between January 2000 and April 2020. A total of 26 studies met the inclusion criteria, including 24 cross-sectional studies and two cohort studies. There was a strong level of evidence to support low to moderate associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity and components of FMS, specifically, the total FMS (r = 0.11–0.48, R² = 16%–19%) and object control skill (r = 0.16–0.46, β = 0.28–0.49, R² = 10.4%–16.9%). Similar associations were also found between the total physical activity and components of FMS, specifically, the total FMS (r = 0.10–0.45, R² = 16%), locomotor skills (r = 0.14–0.46, R² = 21.3%), and objective control skills (r = 0.16–0.44, β = 0.47, R² = 19.2%). There was strong evidence that there is no significant association between light physical activity and FMS, specifically, total FMS and locomotor skills. The associations, including “stability skills–PA” and “locomotor skills–moderate to vigorous PA”, were uncertain due to insufficient evidence. Our findings provide strong evidence of associations between specific FMS components and a specific PA intensity. Future studies should consider using a longitudinal study design in order to explore the causal relationship between specific-intensity PA and the FMS subdomain.

Background: Internationally comparable evidence is important to advocate for young people’s physical activity. The aim of this article is to present the inaugural Shanghai (China) Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.Methods: Since no national data are available, the working group developed the survey questionnaire and carried out the school surveys for students (n = 71,404), parents (n = 70,346), and school administrators and teachers (n = 1398). The grades of 9 report card indicators were assigned in accordance with the survey results against a defined benchmark: A is 81% to 100%; B is 61% to 80%; C is 41% to 60%, D is 21% to 40%; F is 0% to 20%.Results: The 9 indicators were graded as follows: Overall Physical Activity Levels (F), Organized Sport Participation (F), Active Play (D-), Active Transportation (C-), Sedentary Behavior (F), Family and Peers (B), School (B+), Community and the Built Environment (D+), and Government (D).Conclusions: Levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior were low and below the respective recommended guidelines. Interventions and policies at the community level should be encouraged to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior. Future national surveys should be encouraged to strengthen Shanghai’s Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

Regular physical activity (PA) is beneficial to young people's health and development. In order to provide nationally representative and internationally comparable evidence on youth PA, China has participated in Global Matrix 2.0 and 3.0. The purpose of this study is to report the updated results of China's Report Card on PA for Children and Adolescents. The grades were assigned by results derived from the PA and Fitness in China––The Youth Study (PAFCTYS), conducted from October to December in 2020. The data from PAFCTYS 2020 included a nationally representative sample of Chinese school-aged children (n = 133,006, boys: 49.6%, aged 9–17 years). Self-report questionnaires were completed by the sampled students, their parents/guardians (n = 133,006), and physical education teachers (n = 1036) from each sampled school respectively. The grades of China 2022 Report Card are Overall PA (C), Organized Sport Participation (F), Active Play (C-), Active Transportation (C), Sedentary behaviors (C), Physical Fitness (INC), Family and Peers (C-), School (D), Community and Environment (D-), and Government (D). Levels of PA among Chinese youth were low and most young people were below the recommended guidelines, although the grade of Overall PA has been improved since the modified benchmark. Prevalence of sedentary behaviors remained high. Interventions and policies at the community and environment level should be encouraged to promote PA and reduce sedentary behaviors. In addition, national policies on young people's PA should be advocated widely to ensure the policies can be transferred into action.

Background: The associations between various kinds of parental support and children and adolescents’ physical activity (PA) are inconclusive. This study aimed 1) to examine the associations between various kinds of parental support and children and adolescents’ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and 2) to examine gender and age differences in the association between each specific kind of parental support and MVPA. Methods: Using a multi-stage stratified and random cluster sampling method, 711 schools in Shanghai were selected (data were collected from October 2014 to February 2015). In total, 61,429 school-aged children (6–18 years old, 50.7% boys) and their parents were included. Self-reported questionnaires were used to measure sociodemographic characteristics, MVPA and various kinds of parental support, including parental encouragement (PAEN), parental involvement (PAIV), parental financial support (PAFS) and, parental modeling (PAMD). Descriptive statistics and Chi-square were used to report the level of MVPA and its difference across various kinds of parental support by gender groups. The logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between parental support and MVPA with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Overall, 19.4% of children and adolescents accumulated MVPA at least 60 min/day. Boys were more physically active than girls (21.4% > 17.4%, p < 0.001). According to the observation of OR estimates, girls may be more susceptible to the influences from various kinds of parental support than boys (OR = 1.59, 1.61, 1.27 and 1.63, 95% CI: 1.19–1.73 among girls, and OR = 1.48, 1.60, 1.21, and 1.60, 95% CI: 1.14–1.69 among boys for PAEN, PAIV, PAFS and PAMD respectively). PAMD is the only one supportive kind that was positively associated with MVPA in both genders across all grades (OR = 1.29–2.98, 95% CI: 1.09–4.08 among boys; OR = 1.27–2.64, 95% CI: 1.10–4.10 among girls). Conclusions: Less than one fifth of children and adolescents accumulated 60 min MVPA per day. Various kinds of parental support have important effects on children and adolescents’ MVPA, which varied by gender and grades. PAMD, in particular, should be emphasized more than PAEN, PAIV and PAFS in family-based interventions aiming at increasing PA in the future.