Chapter 5
Physical Activity and Inactivity Among
Children and Adolescents: Assessment,
Trends, and Correlates
Robert M. Malina, Sean P. Cumming and Manuel J. Coelho-e-Silva
Introduction
Physical activity and inactivity are multi-dimensional behaviors which occur in
many contexts. The public health and biomedical domains view physical activity as
a major context for health promotion and disease prevention, and view physical
inactivity or sedentary behavior as a major risk factor for obesity, cardiovascular
and metabolic diseases, and bone-related complications such as osteoporosis and
fracture predisposition. Although risk factors for several cardiometabolic compli-
cations are increasingly apparent among youth, it remains to be established whether
children and adolescents view physical activity and sedentary behavior in terms of
the biomedical/public health model.
Physical activity refers to bodily movements produced by skeletal muscles that
require energy expenditure (Caspersen et al. 1985 ). It is viewed largely in terms of
potential health benefits associated with regular energy expenditure in
moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and the stresses and strains asso-
ciated with weight bearing and ground reaction forces. Physicalfitness is often
R.M. Malina (&)
Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas, Austin, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
S.P. Cumming
Sport, Health and Exercise Science Research Group, Department of Health, University of
Bath, Bath, UK
e-mail: [email protected]
M.J. Coelho-e-Silva
Faculty of Sport Science and Physical Education, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
e-mail: [email protected]
©Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
L.L. Sievert and D.E. Brown (eds.),Biological Measures of Human
Experience across the Lifespan: Making Visible the Invisible,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-44103-0_5
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