AFTERSCHOOL ACTIVITY OF CHILDREN LIVING IN URBAN VILLAGES AND PLANNED COMMUNITIES IN SHENZHEN

Abstract

Afterschool is an important time period for children to improve their weekday physical activity. This study aimed at filling a gap in people’s knowledge of middle school children’s afterschool activity in China. In order to study afterschool activity of children living in urban villages and planned communities in Shenzhen, a questionnaire was applied in three schools located in the typical school districts in Shenzhen, aimed at a 100% sample of randomly selected classrooms. Complete data for moderate-to-vigorous physical activities (MVPA), cram schools, sedentary activities, and the itineraries of their school-to-home commutes were obtained for 5 weekdays in one week in an in-class survey, for a total of 366 complete surveys. It was found that a greater active commuting distance from school generated more MVPA, and there was a distance threshold for active commutes. Children residing in urban villages travelled farther and engaged in more MVPA than did children in planned residential areas. MVPA varied greatly among children but was unrelated to the number of cram schools or transport mode to school. Although these results showed greater levels of afterschool activity than that have been found generally in surveys in Western contexts, such active activity terminates in the final year of middle school when students devote nearly all available time to study for high school entrance exams. This study revealed the importance of social context and distance to school for children’s MVPA in China, and pointed out that the current urban planning contributes to active travel of children but needs further adjustment to mitigate the effects of increasing motorization, bigger roads, and physical barriers to movement.

Keywords

Children / Physical Activity / Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) / Active Commuting / Urban Village / Middle School / Cram School

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