The importance of the social environment for physically active lifestyle — results from an international study

Physically active lifestyles are regularly associated with improved health and quality of life. Differences in lifestyles in society can partly be understood through the differences in the social and physical environment. This study examines the relationships between reported physical activity, and the extent of perceived support for physical activity in the physical and policy environment (e.g. facilities, programmes and other opportunities), and in the social environment. The data for the study come from a cross-cultural health policy study called MAREPS. In total, 3342 adults, 18 years or older, from six countries (Belgium, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland) were inte…

Lasten ja nuorten liikunta : Suomen tilannekatsaus 2014 ja kansainvälinen vertailu

Results From Finland's 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

Background:Finland’s 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth gathers and translates research results and assesses the status and promotion of physical activity (PA) among Finnish children and youth less than 18 years of age. This article summarizes the results and provides grades for 9 indicators.Methods:The working group evaluated the evidence and assigned grades of A (highest, 81% to 100%), B, C, D, or F (lowest, 0% to 20%) for 9 PA indicators using the Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card development process.Results:The grades varied in Finland as follows: 1) Overall PA/fulfillment of recommendations = D, 2) Organized Sport Participation = C, 3) Active Play = C, 4)…

Tobacco Use Documenting Policy and Its Association With Pupils’ Smoking and Their Perception of the Enforcement of School Smoking Bans in Finland

Finnish national data sets on schools (N = 496) and pupils (N = 74,143; 14–16 years) were used to study whether a systematic documenting policy for the violations of school smoking bans was associated with pupils’ smoking and their perceptions on the enforcement of smoking bans. Attending a school with a systematic documenting policy was associated with perceptions that smoking is prohibited and restrictions monitored, with lower levels of smoking in the vicinity of the school during the school day, but not with smoking prevalence. Findings suggest that a consistent documenting policy could be an effective tool for reducing pupils’ smoking in schools.

The associations of indoor environment and psychosocial factors on the subjective evaluation of Indoor Air Quality among lower secondary school students: a multilevel analysis

Subjective evaluation of Indoor Air Quality (subjective IAQ) reflects both building-related and psychosocial factors, but their associations have rarely been studied other than on the individual level in occupational settings and their interactions have not been assessed. Therefore, we studied whether schools' observed indoor air problems and psychosocial factors are associated with subjective IAQ and their potential interactions. The analysis was performed with a nationwide sample (N = 195 schools/26946 students) using multilevel modeling. Two datasets were merged: (i) survey data from students, including information on schools' psychosocial environment and subjective IAQ, and (ii) data fr…

Students’ school‐level symptoms mediate the relationship between a school’s observed moisture problems and students’ subjective perceptions of indoor air quality

Moisture damage can influence the subjective assessment of indoor air quality (subjective IAQ) in various ways. We studied whether the frequency of symptoms reported across students at school level mediates the relationship between observed mold and dampness in a school building and students’ subjective IAQ. To answer this research question, we tested a multilevel path model. The analyzed data was created by merging two nationwide data sets: 1) survey data from students, including information on subjective IAQ (N = 24,786 students); 2) data from schools, including information on mold and dampness in a school building (N = 222). After the background variables were adjusted, schools’ observed…

Students' school‐level symptoms mediate the relationship between a school's observed moisture problems and students’ subjective perceptions of indoor air quality

Moisture damage can influence the subjective assessment of indoor air quality (subjective IAQ) in various ways. We studied whether the frequency of symptoms reported across students at school level mediates the relationship between observed mold and dampness in a school building and students' subjective IAQ. To answer this research question, we tested a multilevel path model. The analyzed data were created by merging two nationwide data sets: (a) survey data from students, including information on subjective IAQ (N = 24,786 students); (b) data from schools, including information on mold and dampness in a school building (N = 222). After the background variables were adjusted, schools' obser…

Results from Finland’s 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

The Finnish 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity (PA) for Children and Youth is the first assessment of Finland’s efforts in promoting and facilitating PA opportunities for children and youth using the Active Healthy Kids Canada grading system. The Report Card relies primarily on research findings from 6 Research Institutes, coordinated by the University of Jyväskylä. The Research Work Group convened to evaluate the aggregated evidence and assign grades for each of the 9 PA indicators, following the Canadian Report Card protocol. Grades from A (highest) to F (lowest) varied in Finland as follows: 1) Overall physical activity—fulfillment of recommendations (D), 2) Organized sport participat…

Dampness and student-reported social climate: two multilevel mediation models.

Background Little previous research has analysed the relationship between schools' indoor air problems and schools' social climate. In this study, we analysed a) whether observed mould and dampness in a school building relates to students' perceptions of school climate (i.e. teacher-student relationships and class spirit) and b) whether reported subjective indoor air quality (IAQ) at the school level mediates this relationship. Methods The data analysed was created by merging two nationwide data sets: survey data from students, including information on subjective IAQ (N = 25,101 students), and data from schools, including information on mould and dampness in school buildings (N = 222). The …

Liikunnan toimintapolitiikan arviointia terveyden edistämisen kontekstissa : sosiaalisen tuen, fyysisen ympäristön ja poliittisen ympäristön yhteys liikunta-aktiivisuuteen

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between reported physical activity and physical environment, policy environment and social support. The aim was to evaluate the success of the policy for physical activity in Finland and to develop the evaluation of the policy for physical activity in the context of health promotion. The empirical data for the research consist of international telephone interview data (Belgium, N=389; Spain, N= 380; the Netherlands, N=366; Germany (eastern), N= 913; Germany (western), N=489; Switzerland, N=406; Finland, N= 400), face to face interviews of Finnish decision-makers (N=16), statistics for sport facilities, statistics for finance and doc…

Towards a European Health Monitoring System

The relationships between physical activity (PA) and a wide variety of health and well-being outcomes have been well established in the last decade. Regular PA reduces the risk of premature death and disability from many medical conditions, including coronary heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and osteoporosis. There is also evidence for a positive relationship with well-being, particularly in alleviating depression and anxiety. Reduction of the large public health burden associated with a sedentary lifestyle has become a priority in many countries and is endorsed by the World Health Organization.

Psychosocial Problems, Indoor Air-Related Symptoms, and Perceived Indoor Air Quality among Students in Schools without Indoor Air Problems: A Longitudinal Study

The effect of students&rsquo

The importance of policy orientation and environment on physical activity participation--a comparative analysis between Eastern Germany, Western Germany and Finland

SUMMARY Environmental and policy interventions are seen as boosting physical activity because they are designed to influence large groups. However, they have not been much researched and the evidence on their role is still quite limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in and relationships between policy orientation, the objective and perceived physical environment, and physical activity between Finland, Eastern Germany and Western Germany. The data are taken from a public telephone survey carried out as part of the international MAREPS project (Methodology for the Analysis of Rationality and Effectiveness of Prevention and Health Promotion Strategies; Eastern Germa…

Indoor air problems and the perceived social climate in schools: A multilevel structural equation analysis

Indoor air problems in schools appear to influence learning outcomes and absence rates. However, previous research has not investigated whether indoor air problems influence the social climate of schools. Therefore, we studied whether indoor air problems observed in schools associate with students' perceptions of the teacher-student relationship and class spirit. The nationwide sample of Finnish schools (N = 194 schools/27153 students) was analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling. Data on the schools' social climate collected from students were merged with independently collected data on observed indoor air problems from school principals. We found that the teacher-student rel…