Background/Purpose Physical activity has been shown to lower the risk of incident diabetes in Native American populations. Little is known, however, about objectively determined physical activity patterns of Native American youth, and especially how physical activity behaviors differ at school and after school. This study set out to establish pedometer-determined physical activity patterns of Native American youth and assess the relative contribution of the after school time period vs. at school to total daily physical activity assessed as steps/day.
Method Seventy students from one Native American community in the Southwestern USA (grades 5-8; 40% boys; BMI= 25.1±6.5 kg/m2) wore a pedometer (Yamax-Digiwalker SW-200) for five consecutive week days and were prompted to record at school and total daily steps.
Analysis/Results The number of steps taken after school was derived by subtracting steps taken at-school from total daily steps. The relative contribution of steps after-school to total day steps was expressed as a percentage. Participants took 10954+4874 steps/day, of which 3646+1473 steps were taken at school, and 7309+4324 were taken after school. The relative contribution of after school steps was 62.0+17.8% and ranged from 8.6% to 91%.
Conclusions The contribution of after-school activity to daily step totals appears to be more important to total daily physical activity than steps accumulated at school in this Native American youth sample. There may be limited opportunities to increase steps taken during structured school hours. The results highlight the importance of sustaining high levels of physical activity after school to overall daily physical activity levels.