Objectively measured physical activity levels of rural, suburban, and urban youth

Background: Nationally, youth are not achieving 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Studies suggest that rural adults are less active than their urban counterparts, although studies of children are equivocal. The goal of the present study is to describe objectively measured MVPA in rural, suburban, and urban youth. Methods: Youth from 20 counties in North Carolina who provided a minimum of four monitored days of PA (via accelerometer) and demographics were included in the analyses (n = 804, 54% female). Two random-effects regression models were estimated separately for boys and girls. The dependent variable was minutes of MVPA/day continuous and binary (≥60min vs. <60min MVPA/d). Race, monitor wear time, urbanicity (rural, suburban, urban), and grade were added to the model. Results: For boys, there were no differences in MVPA/d among urbanicity categories. However, 4.2min/d decrease in MVPA occurred with each increase in grade. For girls, rural girls accumulated 9.3min MVPA/d and 8.0 min MVPA/d more than suburban and urban girls, respectively. A decline of 3min MVPA/d was observed with every increase in grade. Rural girls were 4.6 times and 2.8 times more likely to accumulate ≥60min MVPA/d compared to suburban and urban girls, respectively. No interactions across all models were significant for boys or girls. Conclusions: Rural girls displayed the highest levels of MVPA/d compared to their suburban and urban counterparts. Regardless of setting, youth displayed lower levels of MVPA/d with increasing grade. Future research should consider urbanicity when investigating correlates/determinants of MVPA in youth.