Levels of physical activity in childhood. Analysis of family influence, gender, type of school and place of residence

Abstract

The practice of physical activity is linked to an improvement in the state of health and integral development in childhood. The aim of this research was to determine the levels of regular physical activity carried out by children in the school, out-of-school, family and socio-community environments. A descriptive and correlational study was carried out with a total sample of 320 subjects aged 3 to 6 years. The levels of physical activity were collected through an ad hoc questionnaire completed by the parents. The results show that only 30.3% of the children participate in some extracurricular sporting activity, while 6.9% attend federated competitions. There is a higher participation in schoolchildren in the last year of Infant Education and, especially, boys are those who do more physical activity than girls. The use of daily active transport is characterised by 30.6%. Most of the subjects do not comply with the recommendations provided by the World Health Organisation regarding the practice of 180 minutes of physical activity per day. The competent authorities in education, social and sports policy are invited to promote the practice of physical activity from early childhood.