Abstract
This study examined whether subjective health complaints were associated with school-related stress and physical activity among Japanese 6th grade school children and determined the influence of physical activity on the relationship between school-related stress and health complaints. In addition, other health practices were examined as moderators of the association between stress and health complaints. A self-administered questionnaire was conducted for 1,978 pupils at 25 public elementary schools throughout Okinawa, Japan. As a result of two-way analysis of variance, school-related stress showed a significant main effect on health complaints among both boys and girls. However, physical activity did not show a main effect on health complaints among either boys or girls. There was also no observed interaction between school-related stress and physical activity on health complaints. Other health practices had significant main effects on health complaints in this age group. Pupils who slept for 7-8 hours, ate breakfast everyday, watched TV for less than 4 hours a day, or played video games for less than 4 hours a week were less likely to report health complaints. However, there was no observed interaction between school-related stress and each health practice on health complaints. This study suggests that physical activity in this age group has no direct or buffering effects on health outcomes.
