Temperament, physical activity and sedentary time in preschoolers – the DAGIS study

Abstract

Background Identifying individual characteristics linked with physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (SED) can assist in designing health-enhancing interventions for children. We examined cross-sectional associations of temperament characteristics with 1) PA and SED and 2) meeting the PA recommendation in Finnish children. Methods Altogether, 697 children (age: 4.7 ± 0.9 years, 51.6% boys) within the Increased Health and Wellbeing in Preschools (DAGIS) study were included. Parents responded to the Very Short Form of the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire consisting of three temperament dimensions: surgency, negative affectivity, and effortful control. PA and SED were assessed for 7 days (24 h per day) using a hip-worn ActiGraph accelerometer, and the daily minutes spent in light PA (LPA), moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA), and SED were calculated. The PA recommendation was defined as having PA at least 180 min/day, of which at least 60 min/day was in moderate-to-vigorous PA. Adjusted linear and logistic regression analyses were applied. Results Surgency was associated with LPA (B = 3.80, p = 0.004), MPA (B = 4.87, p < 0.001), VPA (B = 2.91, p < 0.001), SED (B = − 11.45, p < 0.001), and higher odds of meeting the PA recommendation (OR = 1.56, p < 0.001). Effortful control was associated with MPA (B = − 3.63, p < 0.001), VPA (B = − 2.50, p < 0.001), SED (B = 8.66, p < 0.001), and lower odds of meeting the PA recommendation (OR = 0.61, p = 0.004). Negative affectivity was not associated with PA, SED, or meeting the PA recommendation. Conclusion Children’s temperament should be considered when promoting PA in preschoolers. Special attention should be paid to children scoring high in the temperament dimension effortful control.

Child temperament is associated with energy intake and its day‐to‐day variability among preschoolers—Results from a cross‐sectional DAGIS study

“…In our analyses with daily mean energy intake as an outcome, we also considered the amount of the child's MVPA as a potential confounder, as temperament is suggested to be linked with the child's physical activity level. 43,44 Our analyses showed that, when the amount of MVPA is accounted for, the association between surgency and mean energy intake is attenuated to some degree. This result implies that part of the association between surgency and higher energy intake is potentially explained by higher levels of physical activity.…”

“…Furthermore, Hankey et al 9 found a longitudinal association between surgency measured at the age of 5.5 and BMI z‐score measured at second grade and in early adolescence. In our analyses with daily mean energy intake as an outcome, we also considered the amount of the child's MVPA as a potential confounder, as temperament is suggested to be linked with the child's physical activity level 43,44 . Our analyses showed that, when the amount of MVPA is accounted for, the association between surgency and mean energy intake is attenuated to some degree.…”

Association between physical activity and self‐regulation in early childhood: A systematic review

“…There was considerable heterogeneity in the study design, methods, analyses, and measures of the included studies. The 37 studies included samples from nine different countries including USA (n = 18), 16,29,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51] Canada (n = 9), [52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60] Australia (n = 5), [61][62][63][64][65] China (n = 5), [66][67][68][69][70] South Africa (n = 3), [71][72][73] Germany (n = 2), 74,75 Finland (n = 2), 76,77 the United Kingdom (n = 1), 78 and Spain (n = 1), 79 Brazil (n = 1). 80 The majority of studies (99%) were published within the last decade with only one study ...…”

“…80 The majority of studies (99%) were published within the last decade with only one study 47 being published in 2006. The included studies consisted of cross-sectional (n = 19), 29,37,38,43,51,54,[56][57][58]61,65,[71][72][73][76][77][78][79][80] longitudinal (n = 12), 29,37,44,48,53,55,59,60,[62][63][64]75 RCT (n = 5), 16,40,66,68,69 pre-post experimental with no control group (n = 5), 39,41,46,47,50 quasi-experimental (n = 4), 49,67,70,74 and experimental (n = 2) 42,45 design. Most studies (n = 37) included participants aged 3-5 years, seven studies inclu...…”

“…The majority (n = 34) of studies reported on the associations between PA and a single domain of self-regulation (cognitive [36][37][38]42,45,47,49,50,52,53,57,60,62,[67][68][69][70][72][73][74]77,78,80 emotional 43,46,48,61,66,79 and behavioral [n = 5] 16,29,39,41,51 ). Eight studies reported on the association between PA and two domains of self-regulation (emotional and behavioral [n = 5], 40,55,56,59,76 cognitive and emotional [n = 2], 44,58 and cognitive and behavioral [n = 1] 65 ); two studies reported on the association between PA and all three domains of self-regulation 54,75 ; and three studies reported on global self-regulation. 63,64,71 Associations were defined based on the effect size as follows: weak (0.0-0.3), moderate (0.4-0.6), and strong (0.7->1).…”