Quantitative Physical Activity of Children and Adolescents in a Rural Population from Eastern Nepal

July 16, 2015

Author

  • Janardan Subedi

We evaluated physical activity of children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years from the Jirel population of eastern Nepal. 399 Participants wore an Actical omnidirectional accelerometer for one week as part of their annual visit to the Jiri Growth Study. Children are more active on non-school days and adolescents are more active during the school week. Jirel children do not exhibit the reduction in physical activity that most Western populations experience during the transition from childhood to adolescence. Jirel children and adolescents routinely meet the suggested one hour/day MVPA threshold. Stunting is prevalent and factors leading to this growth disruption may contribute to the amount of time in sedentary or light physical activity.

American Journal of Human Biology, 28 (1), 129-137. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.22762

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Topics

  • Demographics
  • Global Aging
  • Health/Physical Activity