Daily physical activity and sedentary behavior as predictors of fatigue in children and adolescents

Abstract

Physical activity is vital for supporting physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development during childhood and adolescence, whereas sedentary behavior is related to negative health outcomes. Fatigue, although traditionally studied in clinical populations, is increasingly recognized as a relevant issue in healthy youth, potentially impairing daily functioning, learning, social participation, and emotional well-being. Understanding behavioral determinants of fatigue is therefore critical for preventive strategies in this age group. This study examined the association between daily physical activity behaviors and fatigue in a cohort of German children and adolescents. Twenty-three participants (8–15 years, M = 10.8, SD = 2.4; 13 girls, 10 boys) self-reported their daily time allocation across sleep, physical activity, sitting, and lying in bed awake, and completed the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) Multidimensional Fatigue Scale. Descriptive analyses indicated that participants spent on average 4.4 (SD = 1.5) hours per day in physical activity and 10.6 (SD = 1.9) hours in sedentary behaviors. Pearson correlations showed that daily physical activity was positively associated with overall PedsQL fatigue scores (r = .54, p = .010), reflecting lower subjective fatigue, while sedentary time was negatively correlated with PedsQL fatigue scores (r = –.64, p = .001). Regression analyses confirmed that greater physical activity predicted reduced fatigue, whereas increased sedentary time predicted higher fatigue. These findings suggest that promoting daily physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior may help mitigate fatigue and improve wellbeing in children and adolescents. To translate these insights into practice, it is crucial to actively encourage children and adolescents to engage in regular physical activity. This should be integrated into both their school day and leisure time, making movement a natural and consistent part of their daily lives.