Can a Multicomponent-Overnight Camp Increase Physical Activity Among Danish Children? A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nIn Denmark, most children are not sufficiently physically active and only a few interventions have been found to increase long-term physical activity among overweight and obese children. The aim of our study was to investigate if children are physically active in correspondence to Danish recommendations after attending a multicomponent-overnight camp.\n\n\nMETHODS\nA questionnaire was developed to estimate children s physical activity level and behavior and investigate how transport, economy, availability, time, motivation, and knowledge about physical activity affect children s physical activity level and behavior.\n\n\nRESULTS\nIn this study, 60.9% of the children did vigorous physical activity (VPA) minimum 30\xa0minutes 3\xa0times per week up to 3 years after camp. Most children were physically active at a sports club (44.3%) and only 5.7% of the children did not participate in physical activity. Parental physical activity and child motivation toward physical activity were significantly (P < .05) associated with children doing VPA.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nOur findings suggest that 60.9% of children who attended camp engage in VPA after camp, which compared with a recent Danish study, is more frequent than children who did not attend camp. Further investigations are needed to determine the long-term health effects in children attending interventions such as multicomponent-overnight camps.