Results from Thailand’s 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth
Pairoj Saonuam1*, Dyah Anantalia Widyastari2, Kornkanok Pongpradit2, Niramon Rasri1, Piyawat Katewongsa2
1Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Section, Thai Health Promotion Foundation, Thailand
2Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Salaya, Thailand
*Corresponding author:
Pairoj Saonuam. Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Section, Thai Health Promotion Foundation, Thailand
Email: pairoj@thaihealth.or.th
Introduction
Thailand’s 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth revealed only 23.4 percent of Thai children and youth accumulated the recommended levels of MVPA daily. This paper aims to present the final grades of Thailand’s 2018 Report Card by providing the information on how the data was gathered, the methods used and the process employed to obtain the grades of PA and selected indicators.
Methods
Most of the indicators in The Thailand’s 2018 Report Card utilized two nationally representative surveys: the Thailand’s 2016 Report Card as the baseline data, and 2) the Thailand Physical Activity surveillance data to estimate the rate of change in Physical Activity (PA) and Sedentary Behavior (SB). The Active Play data was driven from Feelfit accelerometers, while School indicator utilized the data from the Ministry of Education. For the Government indicator, we listed the existing policies at national level and requested the committee to score the status and impact of relevant policies in promoting PA for children and youth nationwide.
Results and discussion
Although the final grade remain unsatisfying (D-), the percentage of children and youth accumulating at least 60 minutes of MVPA per day on average has increased from 23.2 percent in 2016 to 26.2 percent in 2018. The Active Play indicator continues to stay at the lowest end (graded F), while the School’s indicator is elevated from C to B. However, attention should be addressed to Active Transport indicator, where the proportion of children and youth used active transportation decreasing from 73.6 percent in 2016 (graded B) to 53.4 percent in 2018 (graded C).
Conclusion
Despite the adequate support from the government and community including schools and families, the proportion of Thai children and youth who engaged in a recommended level of PA (60 mins per day) remains low. The favourable grade was given to the School indicator (graded B) however, this should not be seen as a full achievement since it does not cover all aspects of PA promotion efforts.