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

Abstract

Background: Several countries have released movement guidelines for children under 5 that incorporate guidelines for sleep, physical activity and sedentary behavior. This study examines prospective associations of preschool children's compliance with the 24-Hour Australian movement guidelines (sleep, physical activity, screen time) and physiological, psychosocial and educational outcomes during primary school. Methods: Data were from the Healthy Active Preschool and Primary Years Study (Melbourne, Australia; n = 471; 3-5 years; 2008/9). Follow-ups occurred at 3 (2011/12; 6-8 years), 6 (2014/15; 9-11 years) and 7 (2016; 10-12 years) years post baseline. Multiple regression models assessed associations between compliance with guidelines at baseline and later outcomes. Results: Children were 4.6 years at baseline (53% boys; 62% high socioeconomic families). Most children met physical activity (89%) and sleep (93%) guidelines; 23% met screen-time guidelines; and 20% met all guidelines at baseline. Meeting all of the three guidelines was associated with lower BMI z-scores at 9-11 years of age (b = − 0.26, 95%CI-0.47, − 0.05). Meeting physical activity guidelines was associated with higher total body bone mineral density (b = 0.64, 95%CI 0.15, 1.13), and total body bone mineral content (b = 183.19, 95%CI 69.92, 296.46) at 10-12 years of age. Meeting sleep guidelines was associated with better reading (b = 37.60, 95%CI 6.74, 68.46), spelling (b = 34.95, 95%CI 6.65, 63.25), numeracy (b = 39.09, 95%CI 11.75, 66.44), language (b = 44.31, 95%CI 11.77, 76.85) and writing (b = 25.93, 95%CI 0.30, 51.57) at 8-9 years of age. No associations were evident for compliance with screentime guidelines or for psychosocial outcomes. Conclusions: Compliance with different movement behavior guidelines was associated with different outcomes. Strategies to support children in meeting all of the guidelines are warranted to maximize health and educational outcomes. Future research investigating dose-response associations, and potential mechanisms, is necessary.

Household chaos, family routines, and young child movement behaviors in the U.S. during the COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study

“…Older children’s sleep may have increased from a lack of formal school start times, akin to delaying school start times [ 30 ], which is not as rigid in preschools. This imbalance of movement behaviors is particularly concerning given evidence that preschoolers who do not meet movement guidelines over the long-term experience negative consequences of higher adiposity [ 42 ], lower educational outcomes [ 5 ], and compromised physiological development [ 5 ], and the COVID-19 outbreak is creating a long-term challenge to household routines.…”

“…An appropriate balance of movement behaviors, including physical activity, screen-time, and sleep, is important for child physical and mental development [ 1 – 3 ]. An imbalance of movement behaviors, characterized by low levels of physical activity and sleep and high levels of screen-time, may hinder cognitive development [ 4 , 5 ] and promote childhood obesity [ 6 , 7 ]. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recognized the importance of movement behaviors by creating the 24-h movement guidelines for children [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Association between 24-hour movement behaviors and health-related quality of life in children

“…In a multinational, observational study of children aged 9-11 years, children had significantly higher HRQOL when they met the screen time recommendation only, the screen plus sleep recommendations, and all three recommendations compared with those who met none [30]. Another study followed children aged 3-5 until they were aged 9-11 years and found no significant associations between baseline 24-h movement behaviors (capturing physical activity, screen use and sleep) and later HRQOL among 471 children [31]. The two studies had either a narrow age range or a relatively small sample with the majority of the participants from urban or relatively high socioeconomic background families.…”

“…Several studies have investigated the relationship between HRQOL and physical activity, screen use, and sleep separately [5,9,27] or a combination of two of them in selected age groups of children [28,29]. To the best of our knowledge, only two previous studies directly investigated the association between 24-h movement behaviors and HRQOL [30,31]. In a multinational, observational study of children aged 9-11 years, children had significantly higher HRQOL when they met the screen time recommendation only, the screen plus sleep recommendations, and all three recommendations compared with those who met none [30].…”

Volume and accumulation patterns of physical activity and sedentary time: longitudinal changes and tracking from early to late childhood

“…Although Australian preschool children (aged 3- to 5-years) spend around 5–6 h per day being physically active [ 6 , 7 ], with the majority meeting the physical activity guidelines of 180 min/day [ 6 , 8 ], their physical activity is sporadic in nature [ 7 ]. In addition, they spend more than 50 % of their waking hours sedentary [ 7 ].…”