Total and temporal patterning of physical activity in adolescents and associations with mental wellbeing.
The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 2024 ; 21: 5.
Alshallal AD, Alliott O, Brage S, van Sluijs EMF, Wilkinson P, Corder K, Winpenny EM
DOI : 10.1186/s12966-023-01553-8
PubMed ID : 38191365
PMCID : PMC10775671
URL : https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-023-01553-8
Abstract
There is limited understanding of the extent to which differences in physical activity across the day and week may be associated with mental wellbeing. Such an understanding is needed for better targeting of interventions. In this study, we describe total and temporal patterning of physical activity across the week in adolescents (age 13-14y) and assess their prospective associations with mental wellbeing.
1,983 13-14-year-old adolescent participants based in Cambridgeshire and Essex, recruited between 2016 and 2017 into the Get Others Active Trial provided data at baseline and 4 months. Physical activity was measured at baseline using wrist-worn accelerometers across different time segments (whole week, weekday schooltime, weekday out of school, and weekend), and operationalized as average movement-related acceleration for each time segment. Mental Wellbeing at baseline and 4 months was measured using the Warwick Edinburgh MentalWellbeing Scale. Associations between physical activity across different time segments (whole week, weekday schooltime, weekday out of school, and weekend) and mental wellbeing at 4 months were investigated using sex-stratified multi-level regression models, adjusted for covariates, and both adjusted and unadjusted for baseline mental wellbeing.
Our analyses found positive associations between physical activity and mental wellbeing at 4 months, unadjusted for baseline wellbeing. Among girls, positive associations were shown when considering physical activity across the whole week 0.07 (95% CI, 0.03-0.12), and across all separate time periods studied: weekday schooltime 0.07 (95% CI, 0.02-0.11), weekday out-of-school time 0.07 (95% CI, 0.03-0.12), and weekend 0.07 (95% CI, 0.02-0.11). For boys, similar associations were observed for activity across the week 0.07 (95% CI, 0.03-0.11), during weekday schooltime 0.08 (95% CI, 0.04-0.12), and weekday out-of-school time 0.07 (95% CI, 0.03-0.11), but not the weekend 0.01 (95% CI, -0.03-0.05). For both girls and boys, associations were attenuated below significance after adjusting for baseline wellbeing.
This longitudinal analysis showed positive associations between physical activity and later mental wellbeing in both male and female adolescents across most time segments. Higher physical activity throughout the week may be associated with better mental wellbeing in the adolescent population. Further research is required to understand determinants of change in wellbeing over time.
Registration Number: ISRCTN31583496. Registered: 18/02/2014.
Lay Summary
Current literature on physical activity at different times of the day and week and its relation to mental well-being in adolescents is limited. Understanding this association is essential for developing more effective interventions.
Our study aimed to explore the relationship between physical activity and mental well-being using data on 1,983 13-14-year-old adolescents from the GoActive trial. We found a small but statistically significant positive association between the volume of physical activity and mental well-being at a follow-up period of four months. Higher levels of physical activity were associated with higher levels of mental well-being in adolescents.
When looking at different time segments, boys showed associations between weekday school and out-of-school physical activity volume with mental well-being, but not for weekend physical activity volume. On the other hand, girls showed associations across all time segments.
However, no associations were found after adjusting for baseline mental well-being, suggesting that physical activity may not directly influence changes in mental well-being over time. There is also a possibility of reverse causation, meaning that the association could be driven by factors related to mental well-being influencing physical activity levels.
The findings align with previous research on the positive association between higher volumes of physical activity and improved mental health in adolescents. However, more research is needed to determine if increasing physical activity would lead to improved mental well-being or if improved well-being would result in higher levels of physical activity.
These findings support efforts to promote increased physical activity within schools to contribute to better mental well-being among adolescents.