Is school violence associated with physical activity and sedentary behaviors among high school students? — United States, 2009

Background: Neighborhood violence and feeling unsafe are associated with physical inactivity, an important chronic disease risk factor. Significance: Adolescents are more likely to be victims of nonfatal violence at school than outside of school and they report being more fearful of harm in school than away from school. Purpose: The study's purpose was to investigate associations of school violence with physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviors among United States high school students. Methods: Data from the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a cross-sectional survey conducted among a nationally representative sample of 16,460 students in grades 9–12, were analyzed. Sex-stratified logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between violence-related behaviors and physical activity for ³60 minutes daily (i.e., daily PA), sports participation, TV watching, and video game/computer use. Results: Among boys, being bullied was negatively associated with daily PA (OR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.58–0.87) and sports participation; skipping school because of safety concerns was positively associated with video game/computer use (OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.01–2.00); and physical fighting was positively associated with daily PA. Among girls, being bullied and skipping school because of safety concerns were both positively associated with video game/computer use (1.46; 1.19–1.79 and 1.60; 1.09–2.34, respectively), and physical fighting at school was negatively associated with sports participation and positively associated with TV watching. Conclusions: Bullying prevention programs may enhance the effectiveness of programs designed to increase PA among students, particularly boys.