The Analysis of Step Count in 12- and 13-year-old Children Attending All-Day or Double-Shift School: Tekirdağ Province Sample
Pınar Öztürk Erol1
, Niyazi Eniseler2, Turan Işık3, Ayda Karaca4
1Güngören Şiir Mektebi Secondary School, Ministry of Education, İstanbul, Turkey
2Fenerbahçe Sports Club, İstanbul, Turkey
3Department of Coaching Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey
4Department of Recreation, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Keywords: Physical activity, children, step count
Abstract
Purpose: The study aimed to analyze the average daily step counts of 12- and 13-year-old children in all-day or double-shift schools for defined periods.
Materials and Methods: Sixty students (30 all-day, 30 double-shift) participated in the study; their mean age was 12.5±0.5 years. Children were asked to wear FitbitFlex 2 accelerometer on their dominant wrist. Data were collected from children for a minimum of eight hours for seven days (minimum of four weekdays and a weekend day).
Findings: It was observed that the daily average step count of boys was higher than girls for after school, outside school, the weekend, and the entire week (p<0.05). In terms of daily average step count before and after school, there was significant difference between 12- and 13-year-old children (p<0.05). The daily average step count for children in all-day education was higher than that of children in double-shift schooling for during school, after school, and weekdays (p<0.05). The average daily step count before school in the double-shift school was higher than that in all-day school (p<0.05). More than half of both girls and boys did not achieve recommended daily step counts.
Conclusion: The daily step count of boys was higher than girls. The step count of children during school in all-day education was higher than that of children in double-shift education. It was determined that the majority of students did not succeed to reach recommended step counts during school, and more than half failed to reach daily recommended step counts.
Cite this article as: Ozturk Erol P, Eniseler N, Isik T, Karaca A. The analysis of step count in 12- and 13-year-old children attending all-day or double-shift school: Tekirdağ province sample. Turk J Sports Med. 2020;55(2):86-94.
