A multi-level examination of school programs, policies and resources associated with physical activity among elementary school youth in the PLAY-ON study

Table 1 Descriptive statistics for youth in grades 5 to 8 by sex (Ontario, Canada)

	Male (n = 1,126)		Female (n = 1,253)		Chi-Square
Student-Level Characteristics	%	(n)^a	%	(n)^a
Physical activity level
Highly active	19.6	(220)	13.6	(171)	χ² = 15.05, df = 2
Moderately active	64.9	(731)	69.3	(868)	p < .001
Low active	15.5	(175)	17.1	(214)
Weight status ^b
Normal weight	39.5	(444)	36.3	(455)	χ² = 43.24, df = 3,
Overweight	10.1	(114)	5.6	(70)	p < .001
Obese	6.0	(68)	3.2	(40)
Missing	41.1	(462)	52.0	(651)
Screen time per day
<1 hour per day	18.6	(208)	24.9	(308)	χ² = 29.62, df = 2,
1 to 3 hours per day	62.6	(699)	63.3	(784)	p < .001
>3 hours per day	18.8	(210)	11.8	(146)
Number of close friends who are physically active
None	0.5	(6)	0.3	(4)	χ² = 45.88, df = 5,
1	2.5	(27)	2.5	(31)	p < .001
2	6.6	(73)	6.9	(85)
3	14.4	(159)	25.2	(312)
4	26.4	(291)	24.8	(307)
5	49.6	(546)	40.3	(500)
Intramural sports at school
Does not participate	37.2	(400)	34.8	(415)	χ² = 1.43, df = 1,
Does participate	62.8	(676)	65.2	(779)	p = .231
Varsity sports at school
Does not participate	33.7	(364)	35.4	(428)	χ² = 0.75, df = 1,
Does participate	66.3	(717)	64.6	(781)	p = 385
League sports outside of school
Does not participate	24.7	(269)	30.5	(371)	χ² = 9.59, df = 1,
Does participate	75.3	(821)	69.5	(847)	p < .01
Grade
5	23.2	(261)	25.5	(320)	χ² = 5.19, df = 3,
6	26.6	(300)	25.9	(324)	p = .158
7	25.4	(286)	27.2	(341)
8	24.8	(279)	21.4	(268)

^a Numbers may not add to total because of missing values
^b BMI values used to determine weight status have been adjusted for age and gender

ISSN: 1479-5868