Indicators of physical activity and nutritional status among children and adolescents in Zimbabwe: Findings from three global matrix initiatives.

Background: Regular physical activity is associated with several benefits among children and adolescents. Globally, only limited surveillance data, collected using harmonized approaches to accurately compare levels of physical activity among children and adolescents are available. Through its Global Matrix initiatives, Active Health Kids Global Alliance provides an opportunity for participating countries/jurisdictions to compare physical activity levels of children and adolescents based on ten common indicators. The 2022 Zimbabwe Report Card summarizes the best available evidence and assigns grades on these ten indicators of physical activity for children and adolescents. Methods: Through an iterative process, a team of national experts working in various sectors of physical activity used Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance's Global Matrix benchmarks and grading rubric, to assign Report Card grades on 10 indicators of physical activity (Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport and Physical Activity, Active Play, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behaviours, Physical Fitness, School, Family and Peers, Community Environment, and Government) among 5-17-year-old children and adolescents in Zimbabwe. Published and unpublished data as well as policy documents informing grades for each indicator were summarized. An unweighted average of all studies with data for an indicator was used to inform the grade assignment. Where data were unavailable or insufficient to provide accurate estimates, an incomplete grade was assigned. The primary purpose of the present study was to synthesize and summarize the best available data and assign grades on 10 common indicators of physical activity for children and adolescents. The secondary objective was to compare Report Grades across three Global Matrix initiatives. Results: Grades for the ten common indicators for Global Matrix 4.0 plus Nutritional Status (B+) were assigned as follows: Overall Physical Activity (C+), Organized Sport and Physical Activity (B-), Active Play (C+), Active Transportation (B), Sedentary Behaviours (C), Physical Fitness (Incomplete), Family and Peers (Incomplete), School (C), Community and Environment (C-), Government (D). Generally, grades for individual behaviours (Physical Activity, Organized Sport and Physical Activity, Active Play, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behaviours) were higher than for sources of influence (Family and Peers, School, Community and Environment, Government). Across 3 Global Matrices, the grade for Overall Physical activity (C+) did not change, Community and Environment (F, D, C-) steadily improved over time; while those for Active Transportation, Sedentary Behaviours and Sports were unchanged for Global Matrix 2.0 and 3.0, but declined for Global Matrix 4.0. Conclusion: Although grades for individual behaviours were higher than those for sources of influence, overall, our findings show that the levels of physical activity among children and adolescents in Zimbabwe were lower than recommended. Robust surveillance data with large and representative samples are required to provide accurate estimates of physical activity participation among children and adolescents in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, policies and initiatives that promote equitable physical activity participation among children and adolescents are urgently needed in Zimbabwe.

Psychometric Properties of the Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale: A Rasch Analysis Based on Data From Five Locations.

This article describes the development and validation of the Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale (APAS) to measure the attitudes, beliefs, and self-efficacy toward physical activity by children at the primary school level. The framework included: physical fitness, self-efficacy, personal best goal orientation in physical activity, interest in physical activity, importance of physical activity, benefits of physical activity, contributions of video exercise to learning in school subjects, contributions of video exercise to learning about health and environmental support. The sample comprised of 630 school students between grades 1 and 7 from five countries, namely Lithuania (29%), Poland (26%), Serbia (19%), Singapore (16%) and Zimbabwe (11%). Rasch analysis found empirical evidence in support of measurement validity of the APAS in terms of Rasch item reliabilities, unidimensionality, effectiveness of response categories, and absence of gender differential item functioning (DIF). The validation of the APAS according to the Rasch model meant that a dependable tool was established for gauging programme effectiveness of intervention programs on physical activity of primary school children in classroom settings at various geographical locations globally.

Global Matrix 4.0 Physical Activity Report Card Grades for Children and Adolescents: Results and Analyses From 57 Countries.

BACKGROUND: The Global Matrix 4.0 on physical activity (PA) for children and adolescents was developed to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the global variation in children's and adolescents' (5-17 y) PA, related measures, and key sources of influence. The objectives of this article were (1) to summarize the findings from the Global Matrix 4.0 Report Cards, (2) to compare indicators across countries, and (3) to explore trends related to the Human Development Index and geo-cultural regions. METHODS: A total of 57 Report Card teams followed a harmonized process to grade the 10 common PA indicators. An online survey was conducted to collect Report Card Leaders' top 3 priorities for each PA indicator and their opinions on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted child and adolescent PA indicators in their country. RESULTS: Overall Physical Activity was the indicator with the lowest global average grade (D), while School and Community and Environment were the indicators with the highest global average grade (C+). An overview of the global situation in terms of surveillance and prevalence is provided for all 10 common PA indicators, followed by priorities and examples to support the development of strategies and policies internationally. CONCLUSIONS: The Global Matrix 4.0 represents the largest compilation of children's and adolescents' PA indicators to date. While variation in data sources informing the grades across countries was observed, this initiative highlighted low PA levels in children and adolescents globally. Measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, local/international conflicts, climate change, and economic change threaten to worsen this situation.

Indicators of Physical Activity Among Children and Youth in 9 Countries With Low to Medium Human Development Indices: A Global Matrix 3.0 Paper.

BACKGROUND: This study compares results of physical activity report cards from 9 countries with low to medium human development indices, participating in the Global Matrix 3.0 initiative. METHODS: Country-specific report cards were informed by relevant data and government policy documents, reporting on 10 core indicators of physical activity for children and youth. Data were synthesized by report card working groups following a harmonized process. Grade assignments for each indicator utilized a standard grading rubric. Indicators were grouped into one of 2 categories: daily behaviors and settings and sources of influence. Descriptive statistics (average grades) were computed after letter grades were converted into interval variables. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated for all correlation analyses. RESULTS: Mean grades for daily behaviors were higher (C) than those for settings and sources of influence (D+). Twenty-nine out of the possible 90 grades were assigned an incomplete. There were moderate to strong positive and negative relationships between different global indices and overall physical activity, organized sport and physical activity, active play, family, community and environment, and government. CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate an urgent need for high-quality data at the country level in order to better characterize the physical activity levels of children and youth in countries with low to medium human development indices.

Global Matrix 3.0 Physical Activity Report Card Grades for Children and Youth: Results and Analysis From 49 Countries.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating sufficient moderate to vigorous physical activity is recognized as a key determinant of physical, physiological, developmental, mental, cognitive, and social health among children and youth (aged 5-17 y). The Global Matrix 3.0 of Report Card grades on physical activity was developed to achieve a better understanding of the global variation in child and youth physical activity and associated supports. METHODS: Work groups from 49 countries followed harmonized procedures to develop their Report Cards by grading 10 common indicators using the best available data. The participating countries were divided into 3 categories using the United Nations' human development index (HDI) classification (low or medium, high, and very high HDI). RESULTS: A total of 490 grades, including 369 letter grades and 121 incomplete grades, were assigned by the 49 work groups. Overall, an average grade of "C-," "D+," and "C-" was obtained for the low and medium HDI countries, high HDI countries, and very high HDI countries, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides rich new evidence showing that the situation regarding the physical activity of children and youth is a concern worldwide. Strategic public investments to implement effective interventions to increase physical activity opportunities are needed.

Results From Zimbabwe's 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

BACKGROUND: The report card was a synthesis of the best available evidence on the performance of Zimbabwean children and youth on key physical activity (PA) indicators. The aim of this article was to summarize the results from the 2016 Zimbabwe Report Card. METHODS: The Report Card Working Group gathered and synthesized the best available evidence, met, discussed and assigned grades to 10 indicators based on the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance global matrix grading system. RESULTS: The indicators were graded as follows: overall PA (C+), organized sport participation (B), active play (D+), active transportation (A-), sedentary behaviors (B), school (D), family and peers (Incomplete), community and the built environment (F), government (D) and nongovernmental organizations (Incomplete). CONCLUSIONS: Although the majority of children used active transport, played organized sports and engaged in acceptable levels of PA, most of them did not meet the recommended hours of unstructured/unorganized play per day. At present, there are limited data to accurately inform the Zimbabwe Report Card therefore studies employing robust research designs with representative samples are needed. Zimbabwe also needs to prioritize policies and investments that promote greater and safe participation in PA among children and youth.