Association entre l'environnement physique, les politiques scolaires et les types d'activites physiques pratiquees par les jeunes de la 5e et 6e annee

Background: Although only 7% of Canadian youth meet the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day, youth take part in a wide variety of different physical activities. Many characteristics of the school environment can influence youths' participation in physical activity, but the relationship between the school environment and participation in specific types of physical activities remains unexplored. The objectives of this study are to identify if school infrastructures and policies are associated with participation in individual, team-based, organized, and non-organized physical activities.; Methods: This cross-sectional study included 776 Grade 5 and 6 students from 16 schools across New Brunswick who participated in the Measuring Activities of Teenagers to Comprehend their Habits (MATCH) project. The physical and political environment was assessed through a questionnaire completed by school representatives. Types of physical activities and physical activity levels were obtained from questionnaires self-administered by students. Multilevel regression analyses were used to examine relationships between the schools' physical and political environment and the types of physical activities, and levels of physical activity of the students.;Results: Additional units of the school environmental active commuting score were positively associated with girls' participation in organized (OR= 1.34, 95% CI=1.04, 1.74) and group-based physical activities (OR=1.54, 95% CI=1.19, 1.99) and with boys' odds of participating in individual activities (OR=1.45, 95% CI=1.04, 2.04) and meeting physical activity recommendations (OR=2.19, 95% CI=1.43, 3.37). School policies supporting physical activity were also positively associated with girl's odds of participating in non-organized physical activities (OR=1.18, 95% CI=1.00, 1.40).;Conclusions: Environments which favor active commuting were associated with a higher likelihood of participation in a wide variety of different physical activities. School policies promoting physical activity could also be an interesting way of encouraging girls to participate in group-based and organized physical activities.;Keywords : physical activity, school environment, active commuting, policies.