Pedometer-Assessed Physical (Ambulatory) Activity in Cypriot Children

This study examined gender, seasonal and school versus after-school timedifferences in physical activity levels assessed by pedometer. Year 6 primary school children ( n= 256) wore pedometers for five days in winterand for the same period of time in the summer. Two-way analysis of varianceshowed that boys acquired significantly higher mean daily step counts than girls in winter (15,480 ± 4153 vs 11,160 ± 2694), and summer (17,624 ± 5035 vs 13,607 ± 4396). Children’s mean dailystep counts were significantly higher in summer than in winter. Children attained significantly higher mean step counts during after-school time than during school time. No significant differences could be found between activity levels on school days or on Sundays. Expected daily step counts are utilized to describe the physical activity levels of the children.