Association between barriers to physical activity programs and physical activity participation and screen time

Lack of physical activity (PA) programs may affect youth's frequency of PA and screen time (TV, videos, electronic games, and Internet). Students attending 47 Massachusetts middle schools participating in a school-based intervention to promote physical activity and healthful nutrition were asked about the number of days during the previous seven days that they participated in moderate/vigorous PA for 60+ minutes/day and in vigorous activity for 20+ minutes/day. Time spent watching TV, playing electronic games, and using the Internet (not for homework) during the week and on weekends was assessed and used to estimate weekly screen time. A program barrier score (PBS) was calculated from two items asking how often a lack of programs in their schools and near their homes prevented students from being physically active. PBS scores ranged from 0 (never prevents) to 4 (always prevents). The sample (n=18,584) was racially/ethnically diverse. Although 55.0% of students had PBS of zero, 571 (3.2%) had scores of 4. Compared to whites (2.8%), all other race/ethnicities had a greater percentage of students (4.4-6.9%) with a PBS of 4. After controlling for race, grade, sex and intra-school clustering, students with a PBS score of 4 reported 1.5 (se β=.09) fewer days of moderate/vigorous PA, 1.6 (se β=.08) fewer days of vigorous PA and 4.9 (se β=.40) more hours/week of screen time than students with a PBS score of 0. These results underscore the importance of providing access to PA programs at school and in the community.