Physical activity around the clock: objectively measured activity patterns in young children of the GECKO Drenthe cohort

Abstract

BackgroundGiven the widespread problem of physical inactivity, and the continued growth in prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity, promotion of regular physical activity (PA) among young people has become a public priority. A greater understanding of children’s PA patterns throughout the day is needed to effectively encourage children to be more physically active. Hence this study looking at the distribution of PA in young children throughout the day and its relevance to overweight.MethodsAccelerometers (ActiGraph GT3X, weartime > 600 min/day, ≥3 days) were used to measure the PA of 958 children (aged 5.7 ± 0.8 years, 52% boys) enrolled in the GECKO Drenthe cohort. Levels of sedentary time (ST), light PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were recorded throughout the day and analysed in segments (07:00–09:00, 09:00–12:00, 12:00–15:00, 15:00–18:00, 18:00–21:00). Body mass index was measured by Preventive Child Healthcare nurses and Cole’s (2012) definition of overweight was used. General linear mixed models, adjusted for age, sex and season, were used to analyse patterns of PA and ST throughout the day.ResultsChildren were most sedentary in the early morning (07:00–09:00) and evening (18:00–21:00), and exhibited the most time spent engaged in LPA and MVPA in the afternoon (12:00–15:00) and late afternoon (15:00–18:00). The greatest inter-individual variation in ST, LPA and MVPA among the children occurred in the late afternoon and evening (approximately 40, 30 and 15 min difference per time segment between 25th and 75th percentile, respectively). The most active children (highest quartile of MVPA) were found to be more active and less sedentary throughout the entire day than the least active children (lowest quartile of MVPA). Furthermore, children with overweight were no less active than children without overweight.ConclusionsAt this young age, the relevance of different PA patterns to childhood overweight was minimal. Children were most active in the afternoon and late afternoon. To encourage PA in general, ST can be reduced and PA increased in the early morning and evening. Targeted PA interventions to specifically stimulate the least active children could take place in the late afternoon or evening.

The diurnal pattern and social context of screen behaviours in adolescents: a cross-sectional analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study

“…Our findings are in line with a systematic review showing that TV-viewing was the most prevalent behaviour in the hours immediately after school (from 15:00 to dinner time) [ 12 ]. This is also consistent with evidence in the field of physical activity which shows that participation in active pursuits declines in the late afternoon and evening [ 23 , 24 ]. Our findings therefore suggest that adolescents may be substituting active behaviours, for example sports and other non-screen activities with TV viewing in the evenings, and this occurs more frequently as they reach young adulthood.…”

Physical activity and sedentary behaviors associated with overweight and obesity among primary school children in Tanzania: a case-control study

“…Based on the finding that many children in both groups reported participating in physical activity, this could explain the reason for the current study not to associate between Physical activity and sedentary behaviors overall physical activity and sedentary behaviors with overweight/obesity. This was also revealed in studies by Keane et al (2017), Godakanda et al (2018);and Wiersma et al (2019) who found that total sedentary behaviors were not the risk factors for overweight/obesity. However, many studies revealed a significant relationship between sedentary behaviors or physical inactivity with overweight/obesity (Mushtaq et al, 2011, Bhuiyan et al, 2013McVeigh and Meiring, 2014;Vilchis-Gil et al, 2015;Muntaner-Mas et al, 2017).…”

Adiposity and High Blood Pressure during Childhood: A Prospective Analysis of the Role of Physical Activity Intensity and Sedentary Time in the GECKO Drenthe Cohort

“…The influence of restrictions to move freely on adiposity can be observed in the years following infancy, when we compare two cross-sectional studies from different cultures. In a study in 4- to 6-year-old Dutch children, PA was not related to weight status, whereas in a comparable study among 3- to 6-year-old Chinese children, substantial differences in activity between overweight and non-overweight children were found [ 47 , 48 ]. Both studies used the same methods, procedures, and accelerometer cut-offs.…”