WEEKDAY VERSUS WEEKEND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PATTERNS IN YOUTH: GENDER AND AGE GROUP DIFFERENCES.

1154 The purpose of this study was to examine gender and age group differences in weekday and weekend physical activity patterns. 381 students (189 M, 192 F) wore a CSA uniaxial accelerometer (WAM 7164) for 7 consecutive days. To examine age-related trends, students were grouped as follows: Group 1: grades 1-3; Group 2: grades 4-6; Group 3: grades 7-9; Group 4: grades 10-12. Time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was calculated from minute-by-minute activity counts using the regression equation developed by Freedson (1997). As shown in the table below, girls in groups 1 and 2 exhibited similar amounts of weekend and weekday MVPA, while girls in groups 3 and 4 exhibited significantly lower amounts of MVPA on weekends relative to weekdays (p < 0.05). Relative to weekdays, boys in groups 1 and 2 exhibited significant increases in MVPA on the weekend (p < 0.05), while boys in group 4 exhibited a significant decline in MVPA (p < 0.05).TableThe results suggest that weekend leisure time may be an important target for physical activity intervention programs involving adolescent youth.