Measuring the Daily Activity of Lying Down, Sitting, Standing and Stepping of Obese Children Using the ActivPAL^TMActivity Monitor

Abstract

This study describes the patterns of objectively measured sitting, standing and stepping in obese children using the activPALTM and highlights possible differences in sedentary levels and patterns during weekdays and weekends. Sixty-five obese children, aged 9-11 years, were recruited from primary schools in Terengganu, Malaysia. Sitting, standing and stepping were objectively measured using an activPALTM accelerometer over a period of 4-7 days. Obese children spent an average of 69.6% of their day sitting/lying, 19.1% standing and 11.3% stepping. Weekdays and weekends differed significantly in total time spent sitting/lying, standing, stepping, step count, number of sedentary bouts and length of sedentary bouts (p < 0.05, respectively). Obese children spent a large proportion of their time sedentarily, and they spent more time sedentarily during weekends compared with weekdays. This study on sedentary behaviour patterns presents valuable information for designing and implementing strategies to decrease sedentary time among obese children, particularly during weekends.

activPAL-measured sitting levels and patterns in 9–10 years old children from a UK city

“…This study found that children sat in excess of 10hrs/day (68% of wear time) on Children spent more time sitting on weekend days compared to school days in this study. These findings add to previous inconsistent evidence that either supports this finding (21)(22)(23), have found no difference (17,32), or have observed the opposite (6).…”

“…school days and 11hrs/day (74% of wear time) on weekend days which are high volumes of sitting for this age group. These proportions are almost identical to activPAL data reported in obese Malaysian children (aged 9-11yrs) on school days (68%) and weekend days (73%)(23). Compared to accelerometer data, our results are similar to the proportions of sedentary time observed in British Pakistani and White British girls (65-70%) (aged 10yrs) (6) and higher than that reported in a sample of White British children (64%)(5).…”

“…Consequently, there is a need to differentiate between time spent sitting and standing using inclinometers (2). The activPAL inclinometer has been implemented in a handful of studies in children (8-12yrs) which confirm high prorportions of time at school (70-71%) (20), on school days (53-69%) and weekend days (60-73%) is spent sitting (20)(21)(22)(23). More studies need to build on these findings for a better understanding of sitting patterns.…”

Pedometer-determined physical activity among primary schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur

“…17 Obese children also were found to accrue the greatest number of sedentary bouts during weekdays rather than at the weekend. 18 Similarly, Lee and colleagues found low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behaviour among children aged 7 to 12 years, with 84.8% not meeting pedometer step count recommendations. 19 The same study also reported that Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ) scores and pedometer step counts were negatively associated with body mass index (BMI)-for-age Z-score, percentage body fat and waist circumference (WC).…”

Weekdays and Weekends Variation of Step Count in 9 to 11 Years Old Obese School Children

“…Full details of participant's recruitment and study procedure have been reported elsewhere [12]. In brief, the present study is a cross-sectional study measuring the daily activity of lying down, sitting, standing and stepping of obese of obese children …”