The South African 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Birth to 5 Years: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sitting Behavior, Screen Time, and Sleep

Abstract

Background: In December 2018, the South African 24-hour movement guidelines for birth to 5 years were released. This article describes the process used to develop these guidelines. Methods: The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation-ADOLOPMENT approach was followed, with some pragmatic adaptions, using the Australian guidelines for the early years as a starting point. A consensus panel, including stakeholders in early childhood development and academics, was formed to assist with the development process. Results: At a face-to-face meeting of the panel, global and local literatures were considered. Following this meeting, a first draft of the guidelines (including a preamble) was formulated. Further reviews of these drafts by the panel were done via e-mail, and a working draft was sent out for stakeholder consultation. The guidelines and preamble were amended based on stakeholder input, and an infographic was designed. Practical “tips” documents were also developed for caregivers of birth to 5-year-olds and early childhood development practitioners. The guidelines (and accompanying documents) were released at a launch event and disseminated through various media channels. Conclusions: These are the first movement guidelines for South African and the first such guidelines for this age group from a low- and middle-income country.

Understanding the influence of 24-hour movement behaviours on the health and development of preschool children from low-income South African settings: the SUNRISE pilot study

“…Given that only 10% of parents reported reading to their child, it is possible that encouraging parents to do this, especially as part of their bedtime routine, could be beneficial for reducing screen time, improving early learning outcomes, and encouraging nurturing interactions between parents and children. [1] The gross motor performance of these children aligns with previous research from low-income South African settings that found preschool children perform well in this domain. [11,16] EF in the South African SUNRISE sample is also comparable to previous South African studies using the EYT in this age group, which found that children perform within and, in some cases exceed, the normal range for EF, and that urban children have better working memory and shifting than rural children.…”

Trends and correlates of meeting 24-hour movement guidelines: a 15-year study among 167,577 Thai adults

“…Growing evidence shows that high PA, low sedentary time, and adequate sleep duration are collectively associated with a range of health benefits, such as lower body mass index (BMI), low waist circumference, and high aerobic fitness [5][6][7][8][9][10]. Based on the emerging evidence and a better understanding of the importance of considering these behaviours holistically, new public health guidelines that combine recommendations for PA, SB, and sleep have been issued in several countries [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Canada pioneered the development of such guidelines, and in 2016 they launched the first national 24-h movement guidelines [16].…”

A qualitative study reporting maternal perceptions of the importance of play for healthy growth and development in the first two years of life

“…Guidelines for physical activity in the early years recommend that infants should accumulate sufficient daily tummy time and floor based play, and should not be restrained for extended periods of time [1,4]. For toddlers, recommendations further advise 180 min of active play per day; and for both age groups no screen time is recommended [1,4]. However, in the first 2 years of life, infants and toddlers do not have much autonomy over their behaviours, and are reliant on their caregivers providing opportunities for play [3].…”