Barriers to physical activity in young New Zealanders.

A range of social, behavioural and physical changes in young people's lives has resulted in barriers great enough to cause reduced activity levels. Major barriers include a reduction in active transport, altered community design, less physical education time at school, a rise of the two-income family, an increase in labour-saving appliances, and a shift away from active to passive leisure and entertainment pursuits. Society must work to decrease the influence of these barriers and, wherever possible, enhance and support opportunities for young people to become physically active.

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Like young people in other countries, New Zealand's youth are becoming more sedentary. Between 1997 and 2001 the proportion of 5- to 17-year-old New Zealanders deemed active (participated in at least 2.5 hours of physical activity per week) decreased by 2.4%. In this paper, we review the trends in physical activity participation for New Zealand 10- to 25-year-olds and examine some of the physical, social and environmental influences that may support or impede this participation.

The current physical activity guidelines (Hillary Commission 2001) for all New Zealanders, recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity OIl most if not all days of the week, and, if possible, some additional vigorous exercise for extra health and fitness. The New Zealand guidelines (Ministry of Health 1998) for physical activity for adolescents, which are based on findings of an international consensus conference (Sallis & Patrick 1994), suggest adolescents should be active every day and that they should also undertake three or more sessions per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity lasting at least 20 minutes. For children, the New Zealand guideline (Ministry of Health 1997) recommends 30 to 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per day. The New Zealand guidelines have been widely interpreted as meaning all age groups need to undertake at least two and a half hours of physical activity per week in order to accrue health benefits (National Health Committee 1998).

Leisure-time physical activity trend data from questionnaires is available for New Zealand 10- to 25-year-olds for the period 1997 to 2001. No other nationally representative data using other methodologies, for example pedometers or heart rate monitors, are available. Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) (2003a, 2003b) has undertaken three surveys during this period. This research reported the proportion of physically active New Zealanders (i.e. those who undertook two and a half hours of leisure-time physical activity per week and were deemed by SPARC to have met the physical activity guidelines). The data for the under-18-year-olds was obtained by proxy reporting by a parent or guardian. Not withstanding the criticism of proxy reporting (Armstrong & Welsman 1997), and the use of a weekly total rather than daily accumulated physical activity duration, 70% of 18- to 24-year-olds were deemed active, and there was no significant difference in participation from 1997 to 2001. In 1997, 68.9% of young people (5- to 17-year-olds) were deemed active; this figure decreased to 66.5% by 2001 (Sport and Recreation New Zealand 2003c). Particularly concerning was the significant decline of Maori children who were deemed active, which fell from 75% to 66%, and 13- to 15-year-olds who were deemed active, which fell from 74% to 62% over this period. More disturbing was the substantial decrease in young people's level of interest in participating in a new sport or leisure activity (63.7% in 1997 down to 58% by 2001) (Sport and Recreation New Zealand 2003d). Sport and Recreation New Zealand (2003b) also reported a significant increase in 5- to 17-year-olds who were classified as sedentary (from 8% to 13%); sedentary was defined as no leisure-time or sports-related physical activity in the previous two weeks. These results may be more concerning given recent research measuring physical activity using heart rate monitors, which suggests that the proportion of 10- to 13-year-olds meeting the physical activity guidelines may be even lower (Calvert, Ross & Hamlin 2001). Negative health-related fitness trends have also been observed for 10- to 14-year-olds front 1991 to 2000 (Dawson et al. 2001), and for 10- to 12-year-olds for the 16 years from 1984 to 1985 (Hamlin, Ross & Hong 2002) in New Zealand.

Though these trends are disturbing, in a comparative study using similar methods of assessment, New Zealand youth were reported to participate in a wider range of leisure-time physical activities and with a higher frequency compared to Scottish youth (West et al. 2002). This finding supports the assertion of SPARC that New Zealand is a relatively active nation (Sport and Recreation New Zealand 2003a). The question is what physical, social, policy and environmental influences support or impede young New Zealanders' participation in physical activity? While there has been a systematic study investigating the support and barriers to physical activity for adult New Zealanders (Sport and Recreation New Zealand 2003b), none exists for young New Zealanders. The following article gathers information from a variety of sources to piece together some possible influences. In particular, transportation, community design, the school environment, factors supporting or impeding participation by women and girls, differences in ethnicity and family background, and influences of passive leisure opportunities will be investigated further.

Transportation

Active transportation, that is walking and cycling to school or work, can provide an opportunity to be routinely active, and is likely to be an important source of young people's overall daily physical activity (Tudor-Locke, Ainsworth & Popkin 2001). However, in New Zealand the trends are towards decreasing use of active transportation and an increased use of motorised transport (i.e. private car). By 2001, 95% of families in New Zealand had access to at least one motor vehicle (Statistics New Zealand 2002). The New Zealand Land Transport Safety Authority (Frith 2000) has been tracking modes of transportation for children getting to and from school, and they have reported that since 1987, children are increasingly being driven to school rather than walking or cycling. In 2002, almost 50% of New Zealand children were transported to school (Ministry of Health 2003). A survey completed by children with the help of their teachers from 33 primary schools in the Christ-church area, found that only 30% of children walked or cycled to school on any one day (Christchurch City Council City Streets Unit 1999). Interestingly, from a separate questionnaire sent home for parents to complete, the majority of parents (77%) stated they either walked or cycled to school themselves as 10-year-olds, indicating a substantial decrease in active transport in only one generation. This increased reliance on motor vehicles for the transport of children to and from school has also been found in other developed countries (Carlin et al. 1997; School Travel Advisory Group 1999), and was also illustrated in national data collected between 1989 and 1990 by the Land Transport Safety Authority. This data showed the number of school trips made by children as passengers increased from approximately 28 million per year in 1989-1990 to approximately 53 million trips per year in 1997-1998 (Frith 2000). The motorised trips for the majority of children (68%) were less than two kilometres in distance (Frith 2000). While parents indicated that road safety was the leading reason behind the increased proportion of children travelling to school by motor vehicle (Christchurch City Council City Streets Unit 1999), information from the l,and Transport Safety Authority indicates there has been improved safety on New Zealand roads. Annual pedestrian causalities (people injured and killed on roads and streets) have decreased from 66.1 per 100,000 people in 1970 to 28.1 per 100,000 in 2002 (Land Transport Safety Authority 2004). Similarly, cyclist causalities have decreased from 37.5 to 20.0 per 100,000 over the same time period (Land Transport Safety Authority 2004). This decrease is undoubtedly influenced by many factors including a substantial drop in pedestrians and cyclists on the roads now compared to 20 years ago, but the decrease in casualties may also be a consequence of safer roads and footpaths for people engaged in active transport. It seems that the increased reliance on motorised transport and the busier roads caused by more traffic probably act as barriers to active transport and, therefore, physical activity for New Zealand young people.

Community design

New Zealand's population is mostly urban with 71% of New Zealanders in 2001 residing in large urban areas, compared to 70.2% in 1996 (Statistics New Zealand 2001a). An increase in the number of people living in major urban areas results in an increase in population density of those areas (assuming no increase in urban square area), which may lead to subsequent decreases in opportunities either at home or in the community for active recreating and physical activity. For example, between 1991 and 2001, in the residentially zoned parts of Christchurch City, there has been an increase of 9.3% in the gross population density, and a 14.4% increase in the gross dwelling density, resulting in more people and more dwellings on the same portion of land (Price 2004). Research from San Francisco suggests population density has a negative effect on leisure-time walking prevalence (Cervero & Duncan 2003), but increased population density may also have a beneficial effect on physical activity as householders look to walk or cycle to work. Although data is difficult to find for New Zealand, international literature suggests there is a trend for bigger houses on smaller parcels of land in developed countries (Lomborg 2001), thereby decreasing further the available space for outdoor recreation and play. Inadequate or inconvenient recreation facilities in the local neighbourhood (Powell, Martin & Chowdhury 2003), neighbourhood safety concerns (Cervero & Duncan 2003), and small and inadequate areas to play at home are all potential barriers to physical activity in New Zealand's contemporary society. Recent research from Australia, confirms that parents' perceptions of the local environment have an effect on children's physical activity levels (Timperio et al. 2004). For example, perceptions of insufficient public transport, limited [)arks or sports grounds, and inadequate road and pedestrian safety were negatively associated with physical activity. Not only has there been a rise in the inner-city population density but recently there has been a rise of suburbanisation (Kenworthy & Laube 1999). Suburban streets are typically cul-de-sacs linked to major arterial roads that encourage motor rather than active transport (Shriver 1997). Heavier traffic as a result of these suburbs can increase safety concerns for children and busy roads can act as barriers to play areas for children.

School environment

The school environment has two potential impacts on young people's physical activity. First, it provides opportunities for activity during the school day, including timetabled physical education and sport, and, second, it can influence future activity through curriculum-based learning (Bauman et al. 2002). There have been a number of changes in government education policy in New Zealand since the late 1980s that could have affected the teaching of physical education and sport. These include a general trend of deregulation and devolving more responsibility to individual schools for curriculum matters, including timetable decisions (Fancy 2004). In addition, a new Health and Physical Education curriculum (Ministry of Education 2004) was introduced and, since 1998, a focus has been placed by the government on the numeracy and literacy in schools (Fancy 2004). Twenty per cent of 7- to 10-year-olds and 10% of 11- to 14-year-olds in 2002 reported receiving no physical education class in the week they were surveyed (Ministry of Health 2003). These data support the findings of previous New Zealand researchers who reported a worrying decline in curriculum time for physical education and sport over the period spanning the time of regulation and curriculum changes (Ross & Cowley 1995; Ross & Hargreaves 1995). This phenomena has been experienced in other countries, such as Finland, where schools have devolved responsibility for curriculum matters (Hardman & Marshall 2000). Recently, the Minister of Education in New Zealand announced a significant initiative that has the potential to rectify these trends and increase children's school-time physical activity (Ministry of Education 2004). This initiative aims to increase physical activity for 5- to 12-year-olds by one hour per week over and above the current physical education time. The National Education Guidelines will be amended as part of this initiative to give priority to raising physical activity levels. Time will tell if these changes will have the intended effect.

Young women's physical activity participation

Physical activity levels in New Zealanders change throughout life, and particularly in adolescence. For example, New Zealand girls and young women aged from 10 to 24 are less active than their male counterparts (Sport and Recreation New Zealand 2003a). This is a common finding internationally (Armstrong & Van Mechelem 1998; Pate, Long & Heath 1994). It has been estimated that young males are approximately 15% to 25% more active than young females (Sallis 1993). A recent New Zealand study reported that 10- to 13-year-old boys spend significantly more of their time with elevated heart rates, which presumably means they were exerting themselves more (Calvert, Ross & Hamlin 2001). Walker and colleagues (1999) found that significantly more boys (74%) achieved the physical activity guidelines (of undertaking at least 30 minutes moderate intensity physical activity on most days of the week) compared to girls (64%) (Walker, Ross & Gray 1999). The Dunedin multidisciplinary study (Reeder et al. 1991) and the Life in New Zealand survey (Wilson, Hopkins & Russell 1993) reported higher levels of leisure-time physical activity participation by hays compared to girls, including vigorous activity; similar results were reported in an Australian survey of participation in sport and physical activity by 5- to 14-year-olds (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1997, 1998). The gender differences in physical activity participation may, in part, be attributed to differences in the independent mobility between girls and boys. In a study of English children, it was reported that a greater proportion of boys were allowed to cross roads, cycle on roads, take buses and go to leisure places on their own (Hillman, Adams & Whitelegg 1990). Further research investigating causes of the gender difference in physical activity levels in young New Zealanders is needed.

Family, environment and socio-economic status

International research has shown that one of the major influences on children's physical activity levels is parental involvement and support in physical activity (Anderssen & Wold 1992; Brustad 1993). If both parents are working or have a heavy burden of household responsibilities, it leaves less time for physical activity and active leisure pursuits for themselves and/or with their children, which results in lower overall activity levels (Bauman et al. 2002). The proportion of one-parent families with dependent children in New Zealand increased from 26% to 31% in 10 years from 1991 to 2001 (Statistics New Zealand 2002). Of families with two parents and children, both parents are now more likely to be employed (69.2% in 2001 compared to 65.7% in 1998) (Statistics New Zealand 2002). These barriers to activity were identified in a recent large-scale psycho-behavioural study (Sport and Recreation New Zealand 2003b) of adult New Zealanders. Sixty-two per cent of the respondents, two-thirds of whom were female, reported a lack of time due to work and 45% of respondents reported a lack of time due to family commitments as being barriers to being active.

Young New Zealanders from lower socioeconomic settings are likely to be less physically active. The 2002 National Nutrition Survey (Ministry of Health 2003) reported that children from higher socioeconomic settings were liken to be more active, cycle more and play fewer computer or video games than those from lower socioeconomic settings. Table 1 shows the data collected by SPARC in 2001 on New Zealand young people (aged 5 to 17) throughout the different regions in New Zealand. The region with the lowest levels of physical activity was Counties-Manukau. This is also an area with a high proportion of children it] low decile schools, (1) indicating a low socio-economic status (Auckland City Council et al. 2001). These findings support the SPARC data, which link increased adult physical activity participation to indicators of higher socioeconomic status (income and level of educational attainment) (Sport and Recreation New Zealand 2003c). A recent Australian study reported that parents of children in low socioeconomic areas have perceptions of increased barriers to physical activity in their neighbourhoods (e.g. fewer lights and safe road crossings, and fewer sports grounds) than parents of children in high socioeconomic areas (Timperio et al. 2004).

Ethic differences in physical activity participation

The proportion of 5- to 17-year-old New Zealand children from different ethnic groups who were classified as active has been reported as 71%, 70%, 52% and 59% for Maori, European, Pacific and "other ethnic groups" (note Asian children were reported as 'other ethnic groups' presumably due to sample size restraints) respectively (Sport and Recreation New Zealand 2003a). This study also found that Pacific girls and girls from "other" ethic groups were the least active, at 45% and 48% respectively. A significant trend from 1997/98 to 2001 is the decrease in the proportion of Maori young people classified as physically active. Previous surveys of New Zealand children and adolescents have not reported physical activity for different ethnic groups. The New Zealand authority responsible for promoting physical activity is aware that ethnicity is a variable in explaining levels of physical activity in New Zealand.

There is a paucity of research investigating programs and interventions which encourage physical activity participation by Indigenous people (Shilton & Brown 2004). Since 1998, New Zealand has had a nationwide program, called He Oranga Poutama, which aims to encourage sport and active leisure participation by Maori (Sport and Recreation New Zealand 2003a). This program involves the employment of coordinators (kaiwhakahaere) who use: existing Maori hierarchies and social settings (including Marae), promote capacity building, encourage role modelling by elders, facilitate Marae-based sports and recreation events, and organise walks (hikoi). This program and the policies that support it embody many of the elements of the Ottawa Charter for health promotion (Ross 2004). The effectiveness of the elements of this program have not been reported, though physical activity levels of Maori young people are being tracked.

Passive leisure opportunities

In investigating influences that may support or impede physical activity participation, consideration needs to be given to young people's leisure choices and their passive leisure participation. There is a lack of information on this topic for New Zealand young people. A time-use survey undertaken by Statistics New Zealand (2001b) determined that 12- to 25-year-olds undertook 120 minutes of hobbies and games (games were not defined in the report) and over 120 minutes of physical exercise per week (Statistics New Zealand 2001b). In addition, the study reported that television and video watching amounted to "around three hours" per day for this age group. The most recent comprehensive study of New Zealand leisure participation was the LINZ survey in 1990 (Cushman et al. 1991), which investigated the frequency of leisure participation of 15- to 18-year-olds. Activities which this age group participated in at least three times per week were on the whole sedentary, and included: listening to music, watching television, talking with friends and family, relaxing and doing nothing, and caring for pets. More recently, the 2002 National Children's Nutrition Survey (Ministry of Health 2003) reported that approximately 40% of children played computer games, and about 50% of boys played computer games during the weekend. In addition, 73% of children watched less than two hours of television per day during the week compared to 60% at the weekend. Statistics New Zealand has reported that young New Zealanders aged 12 to 24 watched on average 2.4 hours of television per day in 2001 and 44% of New Zealand households had access to the internet (Statistics New Zealand 2002). Interestingly, the average television viewing time per day for children (between 120 and 140 minutes) did not change substantially in the period between 1992 and 2002 (New Zealand Television Broadcasters Council 2003). In addition, 33% of New Zealand households had a home computer in 1997-1998 compared to 10% a decade earlier (Statistics New Zealand 2002). This data suggest that although television viewing has not altered much over the past 10 or so years, total time spent on passive electronic entertainment (including television and computer games) may have increased. International research has found that as television viewing increases, physical activity levels decrease (Fitzgerald et al. 1997). New Zealand researchers have reported that children who watched the most television had an increased prevalence of health problems as adults (Hancox, Milne & Poulton 2004). For example, in a sample of 26-year-olds, 17% of overweight, 15% of elevated cholesterol, 17% of smoking and 15% of poor fitness was attributable to watching television for more than two hours per day during childhood and adolescence. Clearly further research into young people's leisure participation behaviour is warranted. The paucity of the current national research makes it very difficult to assess the affect of increased passive leisure opportunities (e.g., television, computers, audio players, internet usage) on physically active leisure participation.

Labour-saving devices

Some researchers also suggest that the increased reliance of contemporary society on labour-saving devices has adversely affected physical activity levels of children and parents (French, Story & Jeffery 2001). One or two decades ago, almost all children completed chores around the home, which may have included washing the dishes or the car, mowing the lawn, sweeping the house or yard, cutting wood or shovelling coal. In our efforts to cut labour and save time, we have introduced appliances, such as dishwashers, car wash services, ride-on lawnmowers, vacuum cleaners, and gas and electric fires. While New Zealand data on the use of these labour-saving devices are scarce, studies from the United States suggest that between 1965 and 1995 there was a 6- to 10-hour per week reduction in time typically dedicated to manual work of this type (Robinson & Godbey 1999). An increase in the use of labour-saving devices leads to an increase in the use of electricity and fuel and also creates a barrier to physical activity for everyone.

Conclusion

Trends in physical activity participation for New Zealand 10- to 25-year-olds revealed that New Zealanders under the age of 17 are undertaking less physical activity, whereas young adult physical activity levels have not varied in recent times. Girls and women are less active than boys and men, and ethnic minorities, such as Pacific Islanders, are less active than European New Zealanders. Modern society with its more efficient, energy-saving, cost-effective approach to almost everything has slowly decreased the availability and accessibility of physical activity for our youth. Unless dramatic steps are taken to remove the barriers and enhance the opportunities for physical activity, young people will continue to become less active and, ultimately, suffer the health consequences associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Further research in the area of physical activity measurement using a variety of methodologies is required to gain a greater understanding of current physical activity levels of children and adolescents in New Zealand. Research into physical activity participation is also required, especially into the influences and barriers to physical activity in the different domains of children's lives, including transportation, school and home environments, leisure time and paid and unpaid work.

Table 1: Young New Zealanders
(aged 5-17) classified as physically
active by provincial area

Provincial area               % Physically
                              active

Average                        68
Northland                      67
North Harbour, Waitakere       71
Counties-Manukau               58
Waikato                        73
Bay of Plenty                  67
Hawkes Bay, Gisborne           68
Taranaki, Wanganui, Manawatu   69
Wellington                     70
Tasman                         78
Cantetbury, Westland           71
Otago, Southland               72

Data collected by Sport and Recreation New Zealand
(2001) from proxy reports. Physically active was
classified as taking part in at least 2.5 hours of sport/
leisure-time physical activity in the 7 days before the
interview.

Endnotes

(1) The decile rating of a school is determined by the Ministry of Education and takes into account a number of factors including socioeconomic status of the families of the pupils at the school. A low decile rating indicates a school with a significant number of disadvantaged children.

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Mike Hamlin is an exercise physiologist and senior lecturer at Lincoln University. His current research involves physical activity, fitness and health, particularly in young people. Jenny Ross is Associate Professor in Exercise Science at Lincoln University. Her research interests include children and young peoples' physical activity monitoring and trends, and also physical activity policy development.