A Youth Compendium of Physical Activities: Activity Codes and Metabolic Intensities

Purpose: A Youth Compendium of Physical Activities (Youth Compendium) was developed to estimate the energy costs of physical activities using data on youth only. Methods: On the basis of a literature search and pooled data of energy expenditure measurements in youth, the energy costs of 196 activities were compiled in 16 activity categories to form a Youth Compendium of Physical Activities. To estimate the intensity of each activity, measured oxygen consumption (V O₂) was divided by basal metabolic rate (Schofield age-, sex-, and mass-specific equations) to produce a youth MET (MET_y). A mixed linear model was developed for each activity category to impute missing values for age ranges with no observations for a specific activity. Results: This Youth Compendium consists of MET_y values for 196 specific activities classified into 16 major categories for four age-groups, 6-9, 10-12, 13-15, and 16-18 yr. MET_y values in this Youth Compendium were measured (51%) or imputed (49%) from youth data. Conclusion: This Youth Compendium of Physical Activities uses pediatric data exclusively, addresses the age dependency of MET_y, and imputes missing MET_y values and thus represents advancement in physical activity research and practice. This Youth Compendium will be a valuable resource for stakeholders interested in evaluating interventions, programs, and policies designed to assess and encourage physical activity in youth.