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Active transport and physical activity assessment tool for African school children. (DOCX 26 kb)

Table S1. Correlations between the main travel mode to home by season - parent report (pilot study, n = 96). Table S2. Correlations between the main travel mode to school by season - parent report (pilot study, n = 96). Table S3. Correlations between the main travel mode to home by season - child report (pilot study, n = 115). Table S4. Correlations between the main travel mode to school by season - child report (pilot study, n = 115). (DOCX 17 kb)

Objective: To examine the joint association of birth weight and physical activity/sedentary time with childhood obesity in 12 countries. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 5,088 children aged 9 to 11 years was conducted. Birth weight was recalled by parents or guardians. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior were objectively measured using accelerometry. Results: The association of birth weight with the odds of obesity, central obesity, and high body fat was significant among children with either low MVPA or high sedentary time but not among children with either high MVPA or low sedentary time. In comparison with children with normal birth weight and high MVPA, children with high birth weight and low MVPA showed 4.48- to 5.18-fold higher odds of obesity, central obesity, and high body fat; children with normal birth weight and low MVPA showed 3.00- to 3.30-fold higher odds of obesity, central obesity, and high body fat, and children with high birth weight and high MVPA showed 1.16- to 1.68-fold higher odds of obesity, central obesity, and high body fat. Conclusions: High MVPA is more important than high birth weight as a correlate of obesity in children.

Background Although ‘unhealthy’ diet is a well-known risk factor for non-communicable diseases, its relationship with socio-economic status (SES) has not been fully investigated. Moreover, the available research has largely been conducted in countries at high levels of human development. This is the first study to examine relationships among dietary patterns and SES of children from countries spanning a wide range of human development. Methods This was a multinational cross-sectional study among 9–11 year-old children (n = 6808) from urban/peri-urban sites across 12 countries. Self-reported food frequency questionnaires were used to determine the children’s dietary patterns. Principal Components Analysis was employed to create two component scores representing ‘unhealthy’ and ‘healthy’ dietary patterns. Multilevel models accounting for clustering at the school and site level were used to examine the relationships among dietary patterns and SES. Results The mean age of participants in this study (53.7% girls) was 10.4 years. Largest proportions of total variance in dietary patterns occurred at the individual, site, and school levels (individual, school, site: 62.8%; 10.8%; 26.4% for unhealthy diet pattern (UDP) and 88.9%; 3.7%; 7.4%) for healthy diet pattern (HDP) respectively. There were significant negative ‘unhealthy’ diet-SES gradients in 7 countries and positive ‘healthy’ diet-SES gradients in 5. Within country diet-SES gradients did not significantly differ by HDI. Compared to participants in the highest SES groups, unhealthy diet pattern scores were significantly higher among those in the lowest within-country SES groups in 8 countries: odds ratios for Australia (2.69; 95% CI: 1.33–5.42), Canada (4.09; 95% CI: 2.02–8.27), Finland (2.82; 95% CI: 1.27–6.22), USA (4.31; 95% CI: 2.20–8.45), Portugal (2.09; 95% CI: 1.06–4.11), South Africa (2.77; 95% CI: 1.22–6.28), India (1.88; 95% CI: 1.12–3.15) and Kenya (3.35; 95% CI: 1.91–5.87). Conclusions This study provides evidence of diet-SES gradients across all levels of human development and that lower within-country SES is strongly related to unhealthy dietary patterns. Consistency in within-country diet-SES gradients suggest that interventions and public health strategies aimed at improving dietary patterns among children may be similarly employed globally. However, future studies should seek to replicate these findings in more representative samples extended to more rural representation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4383-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Appendix S2. ISCOLE Diet and Lifestyle questionnaire (Adapted from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children Survey). (DOCX 248 kb)

Appendix S3. Ethics Boards Approvals for each of the 12 ISCOLE sites. (DOC 23 kb)

The Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance organized the concurrent preparation of Report Cards on the physical activity of children and youth in 38 countries from 6 continents (representing 60% of the world's population). Nine common indicators were used (Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport Participation, Active Play, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behavior, Family and Peers, School, Community and the Built Environment, and Government Strategies and Investments), and all Report Cards were generated through a harmonized development process and a standardized grading framework (from A = excellent, to F = failing). The 38 Report Cards were presented at the International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health in Bangkok, Thailand on November 16, 2016. The consolidated findings are summarized in the form of a Global Matrix demonstrating substantial variation in grades both within and across countries. Countries that lead in certain indicators often lag in others. Average grades for both Overall Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior around the world are D (low/poor). In contrast, the average grade for indicators related to supports for physical activity was C. Lower-income countries generally had better grades on Overall Physical Activity, Active Transportation, and Sedentary Behaviors compared with higher-income countries, yet worse grades for supports from Family and Peers, Community and the Built Environment, and Government Strategies and Investments. Average grades for all indicators combined were highest (best) in Denmark, Slovenia, and the Netherlands. Many surveillance and research gaps were apparent, especially for the Active Play and Family and Peers indicators. International cooperation and cross-fertilization is encouraged to address existing challenges, understand underlying determinants, conceive innovative solutions, and mitigate the global childhood inactivity crisis. The paradox of higher physical activity and lower sedentary behavior in countries reporting poorer infrastructure, and lower physical activity and higher sedentary behavior in countries reporting better infrastructure, suggests that autonomy to play, travel, or chore requirements and/or fewer attractive sedentary pursuits, rather than infrastructure and structured activities, may facilitate higher levels of physical activity.

OBJECTIVE: Household factors (electronic media equipment, play equipment, physical activity in the home, and social support) have been associated with childhood moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), but little is known about how these factors differ across diverse countries. The objective was to explore household correlates of objective MVPA in children from 12 countries.METHODS: Overall, 5,859 nine- to eleven-year-old children from 12 countries representing a range of human and socioeconomic development indicators wore an accelerometer for 7 days and parents reported on household factors. Multilevel general linear models explored associations among household factors and MVPA variables controlling for age, sex, and parental education.RESULTS: Across sites, children with at least one piece of bedroom electronic media had lower MVPA (∼4 min/day; P < 0.001) than those who did not. More frequent physical activity in the home and yard, ownership of more frequently used play equipment, and higher social support for physical activity were associated with more MVPA (all P < 0.001). The association between play equipment ownership and MVPA was inconsistent across countries (interaction P < 0.01).CONCLUSIONS: With the exception of play equipment ownership, modifiable household factors showed largely consistent and important associations with MVPA across high-, mid-, and low-income countries.

Summary of results of cognitive testing of NEWS-Africa survey (DOC 42 kb)

News-Africa survey (PDF 441 kb)

Interview manual for NEWS-Africa survey (PDF 375 kb)

Picture guide for NEWS-Africa survey (PDF 1318 kb)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries and health-related problems among computer-user employees in the banking institutions in Nairobi. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant differences in terms of gender and position of work in relation to the above. Subjects for the study included tellers, secretaries, clerks, and officers in banking institutions in Nairobi. A study of 1,500 employees from five banks (National bank, Cooperative bank, Equity bank, Kenya Commercial bank and Family Finance) were targeted. A total of 17 branches from the banks were randomly selected and 450 employees were selected randomly for the study. Validated questionnaires were administered to the bank employees to collect information related to the employees’ experiences as regards musculoskeletal injuries and health-related problems. A total of 321 questionnaires were completed and returned. Qualitative methods of data analysis were utilized to analyze the data. Chi-square at p ≦ 0.05 was run to test the research hypothesis. The findings of the study showed that most of the bank employees (63.86%) suffered from various musculoskeletal injuries. There was no significant gender difference. However significant differences existed in terms of work positions with a calculated X2 of 672 (df=8, p< 0.05), where the tellers (78.70%) were the most affected by musculoskeletal injuries. It was concluded that computer-user bank employees in Nairobi Kenya suffer from work-related musculoskeletal injuries and health-related conditions. It was therefore recommended that the Kenya Bankers Association in partnership with the bank management initiate exercise ergonomics programmes for their employees so as to make the banking environment healthy to work in. In addition, more research to establish; specific causes of specific musculoskeletal injuries, specific effects of exercises on specific musculoskeletal injuries are recommended.Keywords: Work-related musculoskeletal injuries, computer-user employees, banking industryAfrican Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance(AJPHERD) Vol. 18, No. 2 (June) 2012, pp. 344-352