Cross-sectional associations between sleep duration, sedentary time, physical activity, and adiposity indicators among Canadian preschool-aged children using compositional analyses

Abstract

BackgroundSleep duration, sedentary behaviour, and physical activity are three co-dependent behaviours that fall on the movement/non-movement intensity continuum. Compositional data analyses provide an appropriate method for analyzing the association between co-dependent movement behaviour data and health indicators. The objectives of this study were to examine: (1) the combined associations of the composition of time spent in sleep, sedentary behaviour, light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) with adiposity indicators; and (2) the association of the time spent in sleep, sedentary behaviour, LPA, or MVPA with adiposity indicators relative to the time spent in the other behaviours in a representative sample of Canadian preschool-aged children.MethodsParticipants were 552 children aged 3 to 4 years from cycles 2 and 3 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey. Sedentary time, LPA, and MVPA were measured with Actical accelerometers (Philips Respironics, Bend, OR USA), and sleep duration was parental reported. Adiposity indicators included waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) z-scores based on World Health Organization growth standards. Compositional data analyses were used to examine the cross-sectional associations.ResultsThe composition of movement behaviours was significantly associated with BMI z-scores (p = 0.006) but not with WC (p = 0.718). Further, the time spent in sleep (BMI z-score: γ sleep = −0.72; p = 0.138; WC: γ sleep = −1.95; p = 0.285), sedentary behaviour (BMI z-score: γ SB = 0.19; p = 0.624; WC: γ SB = 0.87; p = 0.614), LPA (BMI z-score: γ LPA = 0.62; p = 0.213, WC: γ LPA = 0.23; p = 0.902), or MVPA (BMI z-score: γ MVPA = −0.09; p = 0.733, WC: γ MVPA = 0.08; p = 0.288) relative to the other behaviours was not significantly associated with the adiposity indicators.ConclusionsThis study is the first to use compositional analyses when examining associations of co-dependent sleep duration, sedentary time, and physical activity behaviours with adiposity indicators in preschool-aged children. The overall composition of movement behaviours appears important for healthy BMI z-scores in preschool-aged children. Future research is needed to determine the optimal movement behaviour composition that should be promoted in this age group.

Prospective associations with physiological, psychosocial and educational outcomes of meeting Australian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years

“…This study also explored associations of compliance with all guidelines. Few studies have previously explored such associations in preschoolers [8,19,21,67], and only three studies have reported prospective associations of behaviours [20,22] or compliance with guidelines [21] and later outcomes. Those studies found that neither behaviors nor compliance with guidelines were associated with indicators of adiposity across one to four years.…”

Associations between sedentary time, physical activity and bone health among older people using compositional data analysis

“…We did not record objective measures of sleep, or sleep quality. Nevertheless, this information has not been made available in other studies [ 15 , 17 , 53 ] either, and we did objectively measure the waking hours. Similarly, although accelerometry is an objective and validated method, it may not detect differences between sitting and standing positions, and may overestimate sedentary time [ 54 ].…”

“…For this reason, we need to use a different model such as compositional analysis, a method that allows us to deal directly with the fundamental nature of movement behavior data, which are intrinsically compositional [ 15 , 16 ]. Moreover, compositional analysis eliminates collinearity problems and deals with the co-dependence between time spent in different movement behaviors [ 15 , 17 ].…”

Infants’ and toddlers’ physical activity and sedentary time as measured by accelerometry: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…While studies included in this review did not report on other sedentary behaviours that may be beneficial to toddlers' achievement of developmental milestones (e.g., storytelling, circle time, reading) [65], the low prevalence of toddlers meeting their respective screen time recommendations is worrisome, as screen-viewing is associated with additional health concerns independent from sedentary time (e.g., irritable sleep, decreased cognitive and psychosocial health) [9], and this behaviour has been shown to track into later childhood and adolescence [66]. In light of the detrimental effects of screen-viewing in the early years [9], as well as the combined effect of movement behaviours on health markers [67], efforts should be made to reduce the amount of screen-based sedentary time that toddlers engage in daily.…”