decreased among children 6–8 years from 1997 to 2003, but increased in children
9 – 12 years.
Time in sports decreased across surveys in children 6–8 years; the decrease in
sport time between 1997 and 2003 was >2 h. Time in sports increased by about 2 h
between 1981 and 1997 in children 9–12 years, but decreased by the same amount
between 1997 and 2003. Of note, the percentage of children involved in sport and
time devoted to sport declined between 1997 and 2003. Time outdoors was limited,
but decreased by more than one-half between 1981 and 2003 in children 9–
12 years. Of relevance, children who spend more time outdoors tend to be more
physically active. Play also involves more physical activity than organized activities
(Mackett and Paskins 2008 ).
Using different age groups with the three surveys, time (h:min) devoted to
computer activities per week in 2003 increased with age group: 6–8 (0:57), 9– 11
(1:27), 12–14 (3:23), and 15–17 (5:08) years. Television time, on the other hand,
increased from 6–8 (12:57) to 9–11 (15:01) years, but was stable at about 15 h in
the older age groups (Juster et al. 2004 ).
Although time in school has not appreciably changed over time, legislation
establishing academic landmarks has influenced potential for physical inactivity
during the school day. Between 2000–2001 (No Child Left Behind legislation in the
United States) and 2006–2007, for example, instructional time in English, language
arts, and math was increased in 44%, while time in recess, i.e., free playtime
outdoors was decreased in 20% of school districts (Center for Public Education
2008 ). Time for recess was reduced, on average, from 184 to 144 min per week.
Table 5.5 Weekly time (h:min) in selected activities of children 6–12 years: 1981, 1997, 2003
Activity 6 – 8 years 9 – 12 years
1981 1997 1997 2003 1981 1997 1997 2003
School 27:52 32:46 31:39 33:05 29:02 34:03 33:35 33:22
Daycare 0:12 1:33 1:35 1:22 0:18 0:24 0:32 0.44
Studying 0:52 2:08 1:58 2:36 3:22 3:41 3:36 4:20
Sports 6:01 5:13 5:03 2:46 4:51 6:33 6:31 4:31
Outdoors 0:28 0:30 0:31 0:34 0:46 0:36 0:39 0:18
Playing 14:58 11:10 12:09 11:36 7:24 8:54 9:00 8:43
Youth groups 0:41 0:42 0:37 0:50 0:56 0:49 0:49 1:09
Television 15:55 12:54 12:40 11:36 20:01 13:36 13:32 14:54
Reading 0:59 1:09 1:09 1:31 1:03 1:14 1:13 1:38
Art activities 0:21 0:45 0:51 1:05 0:22 0:54 0:56 0:54
Other passive
leisure1:58 1:33 1:35 1:18 3:24 2:19 2:18 1:57Adapted from Hofferth and Sandberg (2001a,b) and Hofferth ( 2009 )
80 R.M. Malina et al.