Int J Behav Nutr Phy
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Int J Behav Nutr Phy · Dec 2019
Comparative StudyAdolescents' physical activity: cross-national comparisons of levels, distributions and disparities across 52 countries.
Despite global concerns regarding physical inactivity, limited cross-national evidence exists to compare adolescents' physical activity participation. We analysed data from 52 high- and low-middle income countries, with activity undertaken inside and outside of school in 2015. We investigated gender and socioeconomic disparities, and additionally examined correlations with country-level indices of physical education (PE) curriculum time allocation, wealth, and income inequality. ⋯ Our findings reveal extensive cross-country differences in adolescents' physical activity; in turn, these highlight policy areas that could ultimately improve global adolescent health, such as the incorporation of minimum country-level PE classes, and the targeting of gender and socioeconomic disparities in activity conducted outside of school. Our findings also highlight the utility of educational databases such as PISA for use in global population health research.
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Int J Behav Nutr Phy · Dec 2019
Rural physical activity interventions in the United States: a systematic review and RE-AIM evaluation.
Previous reviews of rural physical activity interventions were focused on intervention effectiveness and had reported overall mixed findings. The purpose of this systematic review was to apply the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework to evaluate the extent to which rural physical activity interventions in the U.S. have reported on dimensions of internal and external validity and to offer suggestions for future physical activity interventions for rural U.S. ⋯ We found an overall poor reporting of components related to external validity, which hinders the generalizability of intervention findings, and a lack of consistency in the definition of rurality. Future research should focus on balancing factors of internal and external validity, and should aim to develop a greater understanding of how rurality influences health and behavior to provide contextual knowledge needed to advance the translation of physical activity interventions into practice in rural communities and reduce rural health disparities.