This aim of this thesis evolved following a review of the literature investigating the factors which influence children’s participation in outdoor play. The review was conducted in light of theory recommending that when seeking to promote physical activity, considering context-specific behaviours and behaviour-specific determinants can enhance the effectiveness of interventions. An initial focus on outdoor play was warranted given the capacity for promotion of physical activity during leisure-time, concerns that children’s independent time outdoors is becoming increasingly restricted, and limited research focus on this domain of physical activity. The synthesised quantitative and qualitative evidence indicated that independent mobility, parental perceptions of safety and the availability of other children to play with were important factors related to outdoor play. However, the review also demonstrated that current understanding of how, where and with whom children spend their leisure-time is limited, and that traditional notions of children’s outdoor time may need to be re-evaluated. These deficiencies were in part due to the complexity of defining and measuring children’s outdoor play. The contributions of different indoor and outdoor leisure-time contexts towards total daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was identified as a particular knowledge gap. The aim of this thesis was therefore to develop greater understanding of the indoor and outdoor contexts of children’s leisure-time physical activity. A novel approach to context-specific physical activity research was devised. This method incorporated use of accelerometry to record physical activity intensity with high resolution, Global Positions System (GPS) receivers to automatically record indoor or outdoor location, and diary data to provide complementary contextual detail. Rather than utilise a domain label such as outdoor play, this method sought to combine measurement tools to not only objectively record physical activity intensity, but also build a picture of the context of this activity using combinations of contextual attributes. Children at the transition between primary and secondary school were the focus of the research due to the changes in independence which occur at approximately this age (10-13 years). The research consisted of three studies presented across three chapters. Chapter Five used data collected between 2006 and 2008 from children aged 10–11 years from Bristol involved in the Personal and Environmental Associations with Children's Health (PEACH) project. Given the association of outdoor play with independent mobility and the availability of other children, the chapter quantified who children spent their time with when indoors or outdoors after school, and measured associations with MVPA. Using a newer GPS receiver, Chapter Six aimed to assess the feasibility of using GPS data to differentiate indoor and outdoor location, and establish a cut-point for use in free-living individuals. Chapter Seven then used this GPS method in combination with accelerometry and diary data provided by children aged 11-13 years from Edinburgh. Owing to concerns that children’s unstructured outdoor time is restricted by parents in favour of adult organised sport and clubs, the chapter aimed to record the profile of children’s physical activity. This was achieved by recording whether indoor and outdoor leisure-time physical activity was structured or unstructured, and exploring relationships between periods spent in these contexts and total daily MVPA. Chapter Six demonstrated that using the signal-to-noise ratio from GPS data is an accurate tool for differentiating indoor and outdoor location, with 96.8% of all ten-second epochs correctly classified. Together the findings of Chapters Five and Seven suggest that children obtain their physical activity in multiple contexts and that no single context appears to fulfil the recommendation of 60 minutes of MVPA per day. Chapter Five showed that children spent most of the after school period with parents or alone, especially when indoors. However when participants were outdoors with other children, multivariate regression analyses indicated that these periods were most strongly associated with MVPA. Complementing these findings, Chapter Seven revealed that in a relatively active and affluent sample, participants accumulated most of their MVPA in school-time or unstructured leisure-time contexts (both indoors and outdoors). The results revealed that these active children spent more than one hour in unstructured outdoor leisure-time contexts each day. However, associations with MVPA were weaker than expected, and whilst being outdoors was favourable compared to being indoors, it was apparent that there is scope to maximise MVPA further when children are outdoors. The median contributions of structured leisure-time contexts to daily MVPA were minimal regardless of indoor or outdoor location. Deconstructing leisure-time according to contextual attributes recorded by a combination of measurement tools proved to be an informative approach for understanding variation in children’s MVPA. Taken together the findings of the thesis indicate potential for leisure-time to contribute greater volumes of MVPA. The results emphasise the importance of children being outdoors, the value of unstructured forms of physical activity and the necessity for children to spend time with their peers. It is clear from these studies that indoor time is also a vital source of MVPA. The work presented in this thesis makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of how children spend their leisure-time and how this relates to physical activity. Further research is required to explore the many other contextual attributes of children’s leisure-time, so that indoor and outdoor environments can be manipulated as part of multi-component interventions that promote physical activity as effectively as possible.

Title: The influence of physical activity on postural function disorders in school children Objectives: The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the state of postural function of pupils of 4th, 7th and 9th grades, and to measure their physical activity and subsequent evaluation of the impact of physical activity on the incidence of functional postural disorders in these children. Methods: The thesis used methods of observation and questionnaires. Evaluation of the state of postural function was held by observation using test evaluation of posture according to Jaroš and Lomíček. The rate of children's physical activity was detected using a questionnaire. Results: It was found that pupils who are not engaged in any organized physical activity is a greater incidence of functional postural disorders and overall condition of postural function is worse than that of students who play sports. Keywords: physical activity, postural functions, school children, evaluation

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Submitted by Valquíria Barbieri (kikibarbi@hotmail.com) on 2017-08-30T22:05:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Camila Evelyn Albues Melo Torres.pdf: 2323996 bytes, checksum: f6117e18b6337bd29904207ec2542668 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jordan (jordanbiblio@gmail.com) on 2017-09-01T14:09:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Camila Evelyn Albues Melo Torres.pdf: 2323996 bytes, checksum: f6117e18b6337bd29904207ec2542668 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-01T14:09:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Camila Evelyn Albues Melo Torres.pdf: 2323996 bytes, checksum: f6117e18b6337bd29904207ec2542668 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-30 / A obesidade infantil nas últimas três décadas aumentou sua prevalência substancialmente. Estima-se que cerca de 170 milhões de crianças em todo mundo estão acima do peso. A prática de atividade física proporciona benefícios à saúde da criança com evidências epidemiológicas no crescimento, controle de peso e do bem-estar psicológico e social. Objetivos: Analisar a associação entre excesso de peso e prática de atividade física em crianças residentes em municípios da Amazônia legal, Mato Grosso. Métodos: A presente investigação constitui-se de um estudo de corte transversal, de base populacional, em uma amostra de 324 crianças de idade entre 5 a 9 anos, residentes na área urbana dos municípios de Alta Floresta, Diamantino, Sinop e Sorriso, no ano de 2007. As variáveis demográficas, socioeconômicas, comportamentais e atividade física foram obtidas por meio de inquérito domiciliar com os pais/responsáveis pelas crianças e foram analisadas no módulo survey do Programa Stata versão 11. Resultados: A prevalência de excesso de peso foi de 24,14%. Entre as crianças observou–se que a atividade de lazer mais frequente foi andar de bicicleta (57,22%) e jogar futebol (44,12%). Verificou-se que 60,62% das crianças brincavam em casa ou na rua ativamente, 49,68% deslocaram-se a pé de casa para escola, 14,53% realizavam como atividade doméstica, limpeza do quintal. O excesso de peso foi mais prevalente nas crianças do sexo masculino, com idade inferior e igual a sete anos as que não vão a pé para a escola (30,55%). Conclusão: A prevalência de excesso de peso encontrada neste estudo foi alta. As crianças com idade inferior e igual a sete anos de idade, os meninos e aquelas que se deslocam a pé para a escola apresentaram maior prevalência de excesso de peso. Há necessidade de ações no controle da obesidade infantil nos municípios estudados, monitoramento para detecção precoce e prevenção de problemas de saúde durante a sua vida. A adoção de estilo de vida saudável incluindo práticas de atividade física, bem como educação alimentar, são estratégias essenciais para o controle do excesso de peso. / Childhood obesity has increased over the past three decades its prevalence substantially. It is estimated that about 170 million children worldwide are overweight. Regular physical activity provides health benefits for kids with epidemiological evidence on growth, weight control, and psychological and social well-being Objectives: To analyze the association between overweight and physical activity in children living in cities of Amazonia, Mato Grosso Methods: The present investigation consisted of a study of cross-sectional population based on a sample of 324 children aged 5-9 years living in the urban area of Alta Floresta, Diamantino, Sinop and Sorriso, in 2007 demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, and physical activity variables were obtained through home interviews with parents / guardians of children and were analyzed in the survey module in Stata version 11 program. Results: the prevalence of overweight was 24.14%. Among children it was observed that the activity was more frequent leisure cycling (57.22%) and playing soccer (44.12%). It was found that 60.62% of children were playing at home or on the street actively 49.68% shifted walk from home to school, 14.53% practiced as a domestic activity, cleaning the yard. Overweight was more prevalent in male children, under the age equal to seven years and those that do not will walk to school (30.55%). Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight in this study was high. Children under age and equal to seven years of age, boys and those moving walk to school had higher prevalence of overweight. There is need for action in the control of childhood obesity in the cities studied, monitoring for early detection and prevention of health problems during their lifetime. Adopting healthy lifestyle practices including physical activity and nutrition education are essential strategies for the control of overweight.

Background: Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) describes children with a difficulty to acquire age-specific motor skills. Although there is a significant body of literature addressing developmental and cognitive issues in children with DCD, few studies have actually examined the associations between DCD, physical activity and physical fitness. Therefore, the aim of the present research work was to assess these associations in a series of four successive studies which were set: a) (study 1) to estimate DCD prevalence rates in Greek children and investigate whether these children exhibit different obesity and cardiorespiratory fitness levels than an overseas sample, b) (study 2) to provide evidence on the association between DCD and physical fitness levels, c) (study 3) examine whether a motor skills and exercise training intervention programme affects motor proficiency in a cohort of elementary school children with and without DCD, and d) (study 4) to test the hypothesis that DCD is associated with CVD risk, identify modes of physical activity that mediate such an association and to evaluate the CSAPPA scale as a potential tool for identifying Greek children for DCD. Methods: The total of 574 Greek (Age: 11.46 ± 1.54 years; BMI: 19.96 ± 3.53) children were assessed for anthropometry, physical fitness (flexibility, hand strength, leg explosive power, speed and cardiorespiratory fitness), motor competence (i.e., short form of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Profiency- BOTMP-sf) and subjected to two self assessments for: i) perception of adequacy for physical activity (CSAPPA scale), and ii) children’s participation in physical activity (Participation Questionnaire - PQ). Results: Study 1: Greek children demonstrated significantly higher DCD prevalence rates (p<0.05), higher body fat (p<0.05) and were inferior in both cardiorespiratory fitness (p<0.05) and motor competence (p<0.05) compared to an overseas sample. Study 2: Greek children with DCD demonstrated significantly higher BMI values (p<0.01) and lower leg explosive power (p<0.01), speed (p<0.01) and hand strength (p<0.01) than those without DCD. Study 3: Results showed a significant main effect of time [F(14, 115) = 3.79, p< 0.001; η2 = 0.32] for motor competence (p<0.001) between children with and without DCD. Significant main effects of group (i.e intervention and control groups) [F(42, 351) = 4.01, p< 0.001; η2 = 0.33] were observed for BMI (p<0.01), motor competence (p<0.01), cardiorespiratory fitness (p<0.01), hand strength (p<0.05), leg explosive power (p<0.05), speed (p<0.01), and free time play activities (p<0.05). Study 4: Chi-square comparisons and ANOVA, revealed significantly increased body mass (p<0.05), BMI (p<0.05) and inactivity (p<0.05), as well as significantly decreased cardiorespiratory fitness (p<0.05), motor competence (p<0.05), CSAPPA indices, and participation in free play (p<0.05) in children with DCD. Furthermore, BMI and cardiorespiratory fitness were significantly associated with motor competence (p<0.05) with inactivity as the mediating factor (p<0.05). ROC curve analyses for CSAPPA indicated an optimal cut-off at 62 points. Conclusions: 1) the relatively high DCD and obesity prevalence rates together with the low cardiorespiratory fitness suggest greater health risk for Greek children with the studied condition, 2) children with DCD tend to perform worse in selected physical fitness parameters compared to their normal peers, 3) motor skills and exercise training interventions for children with DCD may improve health and skills related fitness, and 4) inactivity mediates the relationship between DCD and CVD risk in children with DCD. Finally, the CSAPPA scale may serve as a practical and a cost-effective proxy assessment for identifying Greek children with DCD, however as this is not a standardised test for use with children, its use should be treated with caution until further validation work.

The theoretical part of the thesis introduces the value of health, a healthy lifestyle, stages of childhood and the importance of a family for a child. It represents the healthy lifestyle and children´s healthy eating habits, the importance of children´s physical activities and leisure activities for children with parents to prevent children's illnesses and drug use. It presents the results of a research study of HBSC Health Behaviour in School- aged Children. The practical part of the thesis presents the method of questionnaire survey used. It contains statistical evaluation of the data obtained, comparing them with regard to parental age and the place of living of the responding children. It reveals the present state of influences in families on emerging lifestyle of children in surveyed localities in the Czech Republic.