2020 Volume 22 Issue 2 Pages 92-102
Objective: The physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle of examinees may result in decrease in physical fitness and mental health risks. The purpose of this study is to clarify the changes in physical activity and sitting times of youth from the pre-examination to the examination period.
Methods: A total of 14,879 third-year students from 81 cooperating schools in Tokyo (45 junior high schools, 36 high schools) twice in one year, in June 2018 (before the examination period) and November (the examination period) were surveyed for the amount of physical activity and sitting time using the Japanese version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short version). The analysis divided the subjects into 12 groups according to grade (junior high school student, high school student), gender (male, female), and whether or not one experienced examinations (external examination, internal advancement, non-advancement). Changes in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sitting time were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. The significance level was 5%.
Results: The 74 schools (40 junior high schools, 34 high schools) that cooperated in responding, totaling 18,733 students (6,929 junior high school students, 11,804 high school students: valid response rate: 76.1%) were the subject of analysis. MVPA significantly decreased during the examination period in all groups of external examinees and internal advancement students, while external students showed a significant increase in sitting time. MVPA of non-advanced high school male students also decreased significantly during the examination period.
Conclusion: It was found that most adolescents taking the external examinations became physically inactive and sedentary during the examination period, and even those who were planning to go to high school or university had succumbed from physical inactivity. Also, the results suggest that examinations had a negative effect on the physical activity of students that had not undergone examinations.
