The effects of the Australian bushfires on physical activity in children

Borja Del Pozo Cruz; Timothy B Hartwig; Taren Sanders; Michael Noetel; Philip Parker; Devan Antczak; Jane Lee; David R Lubans; Adrian Bauman; Ester Cerin; Chris Lonsdale

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2020.106214

The effects of the Australian bushfires on physical activity in children

Environ Int. 2021 Jan:146:106214. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106214. Epub 2020 Nov 4.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Motivation and Behaviour Research Program, Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: Borja.delPozoCruz@acu.edu.au.
² Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, New South Wales, Australia.
³ Motivation and Behaviour Research Program, Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ Motivation and Behaviour Research Program, Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University, New South Wales, Australia; School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Queensland, Australia.
⁵ Positive Psychology Research Program, Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
⁷ Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁸ Behaviour, Environment and Cognition Research Program, Mary Mackillop Institute for Health Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 33157378
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106214

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the impact of bushfires on children's physical activity.

Design: Natural experiment comparing device-measured physical activity and air quality index data for schools exposed and not exposed to the Australian bushfires.

Methods: Participants were drawn from 22 schools participating in a cluster randomised controlled trial of a school-based physical activity intervention that coincided with the 2019 Australian bushfires. Students in Years 3 and 4 (8-10 years old) provided data. We used propensity score matching to match 245 exposed and 344 control participants.

Main outcome measures: Minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity.

Results: The bushfires had minimal effect on children's average weekly physical activity. Analysis of acute effects showed children maintained their levels of physical activity up to an estimated turning point of air quality index of 737.08 (95% CI = 638.63, 835.53), beyond which daily physical activity levels dropped sharply. Similar results were found for girls and boys and for children from low-to-average and higher socio-economic backgrounds.

Conclusions: Children's physical activity was not strongly influenced by the presence of smoke and targeted public health advice during the bushfires might not have had the intended effect of reducing children's outdoor physical activity. Only when air quality deteriorated to approximately 3.5 times the Air Quality index threshold (>200) deemed 'hazardous' by the Australian Department of Health did children's physical activity decline. Public health agencies should re-evaluate the effectiveness of health messages during bushfires and develop strategies to mitigate risks to children's health.

Keywords: Bushfire; Moderate to vigorous physical activity; Pollution; Wildfire; Youth.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Australia
Child
Child Health
Exercise*
Female
Humans
Male
Schools*
Students