Last updated on 7-1-2025 by Laïla Boulbayem
Why do we study the context of physical activity in children?
- Physical activity includes all activities involving movement of the body that requires energy expenditure, regardless of the context, i.e. during leisure time, transport or as part of work or domestic activities, etc.
- In children, regular physical activity has a positive impact on physical fitness, body weight, cardiometabolic health, bone health, concentration and other cognitive outcomes, mental health and sleep patterns.
- To understand physical activity in children, it is important to measure the amount and intensity of their physical activity, but also to study where, how, and with whom they are active. In that purpose, it is relevant to study the different contexts in which children are physically active (e.g., activities like walking or cycling to school, playing sports in a club, or playing outside). Insights in these patterns can help governments to create targeted interventions to help increase physical activity in children.
How do we do it?
- Various questions coming from the European ToyBox project (www.toybox-study.eu) were used to study three contexts in which children engage in physical activity: during transport to get to or from school, during free time when practicing sport in a sport club and during free time when playing actively outside.
- Firstly, parents or guardians of children aged 3 to 9 years were asked to indicate the mode(s) of transport used by the child to get to and from school: by foot, by bike, by non-electric scooter, on a parent’s bike, by school bus or public transport, by car or motorbike. Children walking, biking or using a non-electric scooter to get to or from school were identified as users of an active mode of transport to get to school. They are considered as “non-exclusive” users as they can combine it with passive mode of transport (e.g. by foot to get to school and by car to get home).
- Parents and guardians were also asked whether the child was member of a sport club and, if yes, which sport was practiced and how long per week did the child practice this sport.
- Thirdly, parents and guardians were questioned about the time the child spent playing actively outside on the last weekday and the last weekend day before the interview. Answers to these questions were dichotomized to identify children who played actively outside on the last weekday and the last weekend day before the interview.
Key results
Almost half of the children aged 3 to 9 years use an active mode of transport to get to or from school.
Almost two third of the children aged 3 to 9 years are members of a sport club.
Being member of a sport club is positively associated with the socioeconomic status.
In 2022-2023, less children played actively outside than in 2014-2015.
Active transport to get to or from school
Proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years using (non-exclusively) active modes of transport to get to or from school, by sex, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The proportions presented in the graph include the children going to or coming back from school by foot, by bike or by non-electrical scooter, possibly in combination with a passive mode of transport (i.e. public transport, parent’s bike, car or motorbike).
- In 2022-2023, 46% of the children aged 3 to 9 years used an active mode of transport to get to or from school.
- This proportion is similar in boys (47%) and in girls (45%).
Proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years using (non-exclusively) active modes of transport to get to or from school, by educational level, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The educational level is calculated at the household level by considering the highest diploma obtained by: (i) the respondents or their partner for adults (aged 18 years and above), or (ii) the father and mother (or carer, if applicable) for children and adolescents (aged 3 to 17 years). However, for simplicity, we refer to the educational level of individuals rather than the educational level of their households.
- The proportions presented in the graph include the children going to or coming back from school by foot, by bike or by non-electrical scooter, possibly in combination with a passive mode of transport (i.e. public transport, parent’s bike, car or motorbike).
- The proportion of children using an active mode of transport to get to or from school is not associated with the educational level. This proportion is however lower among children from mid-educated families (40%) than among those from high-educated families (51%).
Proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years using (non-exclusively) active modes of transport to get to or from school, by region and year, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Adjusted = results weighted for season, age, sex and socioeconomic status, and adjusted according to age and sex based on linear regression model (using the Belgian population of 2022-2023 as reference).
- The proportions presented in the graph include the children going to or coming back from school by foot, by bike or by non-electrical scooter, possibly in combination with a passive mode of transport (i.e. public transport, parent’s bike, car or motorbike).
- At the national level as well as in Flanders, the proportion of children using an active mode of transport to get to or from school remained unchanged between 2014-2015 and 2022-2023.
- By contrast, this proportion decreased in Wallonia during this period (from 37% in 2014-2015 to 27% in 2022-2023).
- The use of active modes of transport to get to or from school is more frequent among children living in Flanders (57%) than among those living in Wallonia (27%).
Being a member of a sports club
Proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years being members of a sport club, by sex, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
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In 2022-2023, 64% of the children aged 3 to 9 years were member of a sport club.
- This proportion is similar in boys (61%) and in girls (66%).
Proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years being members of a sport club, by educational level, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The educational level is calculated at the household level by considering the highest diploma obtained by: (i) the respondents or their partner for adults (aged 18 years and above), or (ii) the father and mother (or carer, if applicable) for children and adolescents (aged 3 to 17 years). However, for simplicity, we refer to the education level of individuals rather than the education level of their households.
- The proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years who are members of a sport club is much higher among children from families with mid- and high-educational levels (72%) than among children from families with low-educational levels (49%).
Proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years being members of a sport club, by region and year, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Adjusted = results weighted for season, age, sex and socioeconomic status, and adjusted according to age and sex based on linear regression model (using the Belgian population of 2022-2023 as reference).
- The proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years who are members of a sport club increased in Belgium between 2014-2015 (55%) and 2022-2023 (64%).
- There are no regional differences in this regard.
Types of sports practiced by children who are members of a sports club
Distribution of children aged 3 to 9 years being members of a sport club according to the sport practiced, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The most popular sports among children who are members of a sport club are swimming (practiced by 34% of children), dance (24%), football (19%) and gymnastics (13%).
- The biggest sex differences are observed for: (1) football which is practiced by 37% of the boys vs. 2% of the girls; (2) dance which is practiced by 42% of the girls vs. 4% of the boys; and (3) gymnastics which is practiced by 22% of the girls vs. 4% of the boys.
Playing actively outside
Proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years who played actively outside on the last weekday or the last weekend day before the interview, by sex, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- 61% of the children aged 3 to 9 years played actively outside the last weekday before the interview and 75% played actively outside the last weekend day before the interview.
- More boys than girls played actively outside both the last week and weekend day before the interview.
Proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years who played actively outside on the last weekday or the last weekend day before the interview, by educational level, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The educational level is calculated at the household level by considering the highest diploma obtained by: (i) the respondents or their partner for adults (aged 18 years and above), or (ii) the father and mother (or carer, if applicable) for children and adolescents (aged 3 to 17 years). However, for simplicity, we refer to the educational level of individuals rather than the educational level of their households.
- The proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years who played actively outside the last weekday before the interview is around 61% in each educational level group.
- By contrast, the proportion of children who played actively outside the last weekend day before the interview is higher among children from families with high educational levels (83%) than among children from families with mid- (74%) and low-educational levels (70%).
Proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years who played actively outside on (A) the last weekday or (B) the last weekend day before the interview, by region and year, Belgium: 2022-2023
A. The last weekday before the interview
B. The last weekend day before the interview
- Adjusted = results weighted for season, age, sex and socioeconomic status, and adjusted according to age and sex based on linear regression model (using the Belgian population of 2022-2023 as reference).
- The proportion of 3 to 9 years old children who played actively outside the last weekday before the interview decreased in Belgium from 78% in 2014-2015 to 61% in 2022-2023. A similar decrease is observed in Flanders and in Wallonia. In Brussels, no significant change was identified, probably due to the lower sample size in this region in 2014-2015.
- The proportion of children who played actively outside the last weekend day before the interview remained unchanged between 2014-2015 and 2022-2023 in Belgium, as well as in Flanders and Brussels. In Wallonia, however, a decrease is observed.
- Children living in Flanders were more likely to play actively outside the last week and the last weekend day before the interview compared to children living in Wallonia, both in 2014-2015 and in 2022-2023.
Proportion of children aged 3 to 9 years who played actively outside on (A) the last weekday or (B) the last weekend day before the interview, by sex and year, Belgium: 2022-2023
A. The last weekday before the interview
B. The last weekend day before the interview
- Adjusted = results weighted for season, age, sex and socioeconomic status, and adjusted according to age and sex based on linear regression model (using the Belgian population of 2022-2023 as reference).
- The proportion of children who played actively outside the last weekday before the interview decreased more sharply between 2014-2015 and 2022-2023 in girls than in boys.
- The proportion of children who played actively outside the last weekend day before the interview remained unchanged among boys between 2014-2015 and 2022-2023, whereas it decreased among girls.
Please cite this page as: Sciensano. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour in children: Context of physical activity, Food Consumption Survey 2022-2023, December 2024, Brussels, Belgium, https://www.sciensano.be/en/results-national-food-consumption-survey-2022-2023/physical-activity-and-sedentary-behaviour-children-aged-3-9-years/context-physical-activity