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Wearable Artificial Intelligence for Assessing Physical Activity in High School Children

Author

Listed:
  • Arfan Ahmed

    (AI Center for Precision Health, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha P.O. Box 24144, Qatar
    Joint first authors.)

  • Sarah Aziz

    (AI Center for Precision Health, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha P.O. Box 24144, Qatar
    Joint first authors.)

  • Uvais Qidwai

    (Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 34110, Qatar)

  • Faisal Farooq

    (Center for Digital Health and Precision Medicine, Qatar Computing Research Institute, Doha P.O. Box 34110, Qatar)

  • Jingxuan Shan

    (Genetic Intelligence Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Qatar Foundation, Doha P.O. Box 24144, Qatar)

  • Murugan Subramanian

    (Genetic Intelligence Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Qatar Foundation, Doha P.O. Box 24144, Qatar)

  • Lotfi Chouchane

    (Genetic Intelligence Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Qatar Foundation, Doha P.O. Box 24144, Qatar)

  • Rola EINatour

    (Communications Division, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha P.O. Box 24144, Qatar)

  • Alaa Abd-Alrazaq

    (AI Center for Precision Health, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha P.O. Box 24144, Qatar)

  • Satchidananda Pandas

    (Regulatory Biology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA)

  • Javaid Sheikh

    (AI Center for Precision Health, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha P.O. Box 24144, Qatar)

Abstract

Eighty one percent of adolescents aged 11–17 years are inadequately physically active worldwide. Physical activity (PA) recommendations for high school children have not been studied previously in schools in the Qatar region. The objectives of the study were: (i) to assess the level of compliance of the recommended PA and to assess if there are any gender differences; and (ii) to analyze the recommended step count compliance during school and non-school days. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted. Twenty-nine children (12 boys and 17 girls) aged 13–17 years (15.24 ± 1.46) took part in this study. Participants wore Fitbit Charge 5 wrist bands for three weeks to collect various digital biomarkers including moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and step counts (tracking during out-of-school time and school time). Based on this study, high school children in the two Qatar region schools did not meet the MVPA and steps/day recommendation by the established agencies: 38% of the total study group met the recommended 60 min/day of activity (50% boys, 29% girls). Gender differences were also observed in PA levels and steps per day: for non-school days, 17% met the recommended 10,000 steps/day (25% boys, 12% girls). There was a pattern of greater PA performance and steps during the weekdays as opposed to the weekend, but these values showed no robust evidence in favor of H1 or statistical significance for step counts. However, the evidence was robust in favor of H1 (difference between weekend and weekday) due to a statistically significant difference for meeting the 60 min/day activity. While further studies are required to establish if this is a general trend in Qatari schools, this pilot study does highlight the need to design more effective programs and messaging strategies to improve PA levels in the high school population.

Suggested Citation

  • Arfan Ahmed & Sarah Aziz & Uvais Qidwai & Faisal Farooq & Jingxuan Shan & Murugan Subramanian & Lotfi Chouchane & Rola EINatour & Alaa Abd-Alrazaq & Satchidananda Pandas & Javaid Sheikh, 2022. "Wearable Artificial Intelligence for Assessing Physical Activity in High School Children," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2022:i:1:p:638-:d:1019846
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adama Diouf & Mbeugué Thiam & Nicole Idohou-Dossou & Ousmane Diongue & Ndé Mégné & Khady Diallo & Pape Malick Sembène & Salimata Wade, 2016. "Physical Activity Level and Sedentary Behaviors among Public School Children in Dakar (Senegal) Measured by PAQ-C and Accelerometer: Preliminary Results," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-11, October.
    2. Gema Díaz-Quesada & Cecilia Bahamonde-Pérez & José María Giménez-Egido & Gema Torres-Luque, 2021. "Use of Wearable Devices to Study Physical Activity in Early Childhood Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-12, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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