Search

Lasten ja nuorten liikuntakäyttäytyminen Suomessa : LIITU-tutkimuksen tuloksia 2022

QR Code

Lasten ja nuorten liikuntakäyttäytyminen Suomessa : LIITU-tutkimuksen tuloksia 2022

The Finnish School-aged Physical Activity (F-SPA, LIITU in Finnish) monitoring study provides a comprehensive insight into the physical activity of children and young people aged 7 to 15 in Finland, including the behavioural and cultural aspects. This report presents data collected from children and adolescents between March and June 2022 using online surveys (n = 10,098) and accelerometers (n = 1,525). The data was collected during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (threat of school closures), the start of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, strikes and strike threats in the education sector. These factors may have influenced the willingness of potential participants to take part in the study and the physical activity and health behaviour of those who participated. Although almost two thirds (61%) of all respondents aged 7 to 15 estimated that their physical activity had increased over the past 12 months, only around one in three (36%) reported that they would meet a physical activity (PA) recommendation, showing a reduction from 2018 (38%). The results measured using accelerometers are similar: in 2022, one in three (33%) children and adolescents met the recommendation on physical activity measured. According to the measured data, most physical activity among children and young people took place in periods of 5 to 10 minutes at a time. There is still a clear gender difference in physical activity: boys met the PA recommendation in all age groups more often than girls. The drop-off in physical activity as children get older started earlier among girls than in previous LIITU data (from the age of 9). At the same time, gender differences among those who reached the recommendation on physical activity increased in all age groups. The majority of children and adolescents engaged in independent physical activity and about half of them participated in sports club activities, although the share of both independent PA and club participation had decreased in all age groups. In 2022, the most commonly used sports facilities were pedestrian and bicycle routes, one’s own garden or a friend’s garden, and the natural environment. The respondent’s yard or a friend’s yard was added as a new element to the survey and proved to be one of the most common sports facilities. At the same time, the share of people who moved in a natural environment on a weekly basis had increased significantly since 2016. The most common forms of physical activity reported by children and adolescents were cross-country skiing, football, skating, ice hockey and downhill skiing in winter, and football, swimming, cycling and disc golf in summer. The decrease in the attractiveness of physical activity identified in 2018 seems to have continued (2018–2022), but not as steeply as before (2014–2018). The appreciation of meanings had decreased especially among girls. Girls also reported obstacles to physical activity more often in 2022 than in 2018. The share of children and adolescents participating in sports club activities was smaller in 2022 (58%) than in 2018 (62%). Compared to 2016, participation in sports club activities decreased especially among those aged 13 and 15. Participation in competitions was also less common after the pandemic. In addition to the above, this report presents results in the following areas: use of physical activity monitoring devices and applications, amount of sedentary time and sleep measured using accelerometers, support for physical activity from parents and friends, number of lessons in physical education and students’ school grades, adolescents perceptions concerning physical education, school cultural support related to physical activity, active school travel, inappropriate treatment in sports, sports injuries, digital gaming and physical activity, and physical activity, health and health literacy. In addition, differences in behaviour related to physical activity are examined between both Finnish and Swedish speakers and adolescents with and without disabilities. Based on the results of this F-SPA study, even though the take-up of physical activity, which on average declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, has begun to increase again, it has not returned to its pre-COVID level in all cases. The proportion of those who accumulate the recommended amount of physical activity is lower than before. There had been a particularly steep decline in independent physical activity and club activities. It is particularly alarming that the gap between girls and boys has increased in many areas. For example, girls’ physical activity rates begin to drop off earlier than boys’, their appreciation of meanings of physical activity has decreased more than that of boys, and girls reported more obstacles to physical activity than boys. In Finland, there is still a growing need to promote physical activity among the majority of children and adolescents, especially in older age groups and among girls.

Saved in: