Last updated on 3-12-2024 by Laïla Boulbayem
Why do we study the context of physical activity in adolescents?
- 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 adolescents, regular physical activity has a positive impact on physical fitness, cardiometabolic health, bone health, concentration and other cognitive outcomes, mental health, decrease of body fat and sleep patterns.
- To understand physical activity in adolescents, 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 adolescents engage in physical activity (e.g., activities like walking or cycling to school, playing sports, etc.). Insights in these patterns can help governments to create targeted interventions to help increase physical activity in adolescents.
How do we do it?
- Various questions coming from the Flemish Physical Activity Questionnaires (FPAQ) were used to study two contexts in which adolescents engage in physical activity: during transport to go to school and during free time when practicing sport.
- Adolescents aged 10 to 17 years were asked to wear a triaxial accelerometer GT3X+ Actigraph® during seven consecutive days including two weekend days, during waking hours (except during water-based activities). The participants also registered in a diary all activities performed when the accelerometer was removed (except for sleeping during the night). This diary was used to complete the data provided by the accelerometers and provide a full overview of the amount and the intensity of physical activity.
- Adolescents also reported the main sports they practice during their free time, whether they do so in a club, if they participate in competitions, how often do they practice each sport per week, and how much time they spend practicing each sport weekly. Answers to these questions were used to compute the proportion of adolescents practicing at least one sport during free time, and to identify the most popular sports in this age group.
Key results
41% of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years use an active mode of transport (e.g., walking, biking, or using a non-electric scooter) to get to school.
70% of adolescents engage in at least one sport during their free time.
Practicing a sport during free time is strongly associated with socioeconomic status: while 60% of adolescents from families with low-educational levels participate in sports, this proportion rises to 81% among adolescents from families with high-educational levels.
Boys are more likely than girls to use an active mode de transport to get to school and to practice sport during their free time.
Active transport to get to school
Distribution of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years according to the mode of transport used to get to school, by sex, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- In 2022-2023, one third of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years used public transport to get to school, 26% travelled by car or motorbike, and 23% used a bike or scooter. 13% of adolescents walked to school, and 5% used a combination of active and passive modes of transport.
- More girls than boys use public transport to get to school (39% vs. 28%).
Proportion of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years using active transport to get to school, by sex, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- In 2022-2023, 41% of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years used an active mode of transport to get to school.
- More boys (47%) than girls (33%) use an active mode of transport to get to school.
Distribution of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years according to the mode of transport used to get to 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.
- On the one hand, adolescents from families with low-educational levels use public transport to get to school at a higher rate (37%) than adolescents from families with high-educational levels (29%). On the other hand, adolescents from families with lower educational levels use bikes (or scooters) less often (17%) compared to those from families with mid- or high-educational levels (27%).
Proportion of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years using active transport to get to 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.
- There is no pronounced association between the use of an active mode of transport to get to school and educational level.
Distribution of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years according to the mode of transport used to get to school, by region, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The use of public transport and car or motorbike to get to school is more common in Wallonia (39% and 37%, respectively) than in Flanders (30% and 20% respectively). In contrast, adolescents living in Flanders report going to school by bike (or scooter) more often (35%) than adolescents living in Wallonia (1%).
Proportion of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years using active transport to get to 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).
- At the national level, the proportion of adolescents using an active mode of transport to get to school remained unchanged between 2014-2015 and 2022-2023.
- In Flanders, the proportion of adolescents using an active mode of transport to get to school decreased from 59% in 2014-2015 to 50% in 2022-2023. In contrast, in Wallonia, this proportion increased from 16% in 2014-2015 to 23% in 2022-2023.
- In 2022-2023, the use of active modes of transport to get to school was twice as frequent in Flanders (50%) as in Wallonia (23%).
Proportion of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years using active transport to get to school, by sex 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 boys using an active mode of transport to get to school increased from 39% in 2014-2015 to 47% in 2022-2023, while there has been no pronounced change for girls.
Practice of sport during free time
Proportion of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years engaging in at least one sport during free time, by sex, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- In 2022-2023, 70% of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years old engaged in at least one sport during their free time.
- This proportion is higher in boys (77%) than in girls (63%).
Proportion of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years engaging in at least one sport during free time, 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 adolescents engaging in at least one sport during their free time is higher among those from families with mid- (78%) and high-educational levels (81%) compared to those from families with low-educational levels (60%).
Proportion of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years engaging in at least one sport during free time, 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).
- At both national and regional levels, the proportion of adolescents engaging in at least one sport during their free time remained unchanged between 2014-2015 and 2022-2023.
- There are no regional differences in sport participation during free time among adolescents.
Distribution of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years engaging in at least one sport during free time according to the sport practiced, Belgium: 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The most popular sports among adolescents who practice at least one sport during their free time are: football (29% of the adolescents), fitness (19%), athletics (16%), and bike sports (15%).
- The largest sex differences are observed in the following sports: (1) football, practiced by 48% of boys compared to 7% of girls; (2) dance, practiced by 26% of girls and 1% of boys; (3) gymnastics, practiced by 14% of girls and 5% of boys; and (4) basketball, practiced by 13% of boys and 3% of girls.
Please cite this page as: Sciensano. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour in adolescents: 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/context-physical-activity-adolescents-aged-10-17-years