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Association between diet and physical activity and sedentary behaviours in 9-10-year-old British White children
P A J Vissers1, A P Jones, E M F van Sluijs
1School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.
Insights
Dietary habits showed few, counterintuitive links to physical activity in 9-10-year-olds. Boys consuming more protein, fruit juice, or fizzy drinks had different activity levels, but results for girls were unclear.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Nutritional Science
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Understanding the interplay between diet, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in children is crucial for public health.
- Previous research has explored these associations, but findings in pre-adolescent populations require further clarification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between dietary intake and physical activity and sedentary behaviors in 9-10-year-old children.
- To identify potential dietary patterns associated with higher physical activity and lower sedentary time.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study utilizing data from the SPEEDY (Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young People) study in Norfolk, UK.
- Concurrent data collected via 4-day food diaries and 7-day accelerometry.
- Multivariable regression models analyzed associations between dietary measures (e.g., protein, fruit/vegetable intake, fizzy drinks) and physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary outcomes, adjusted for covariates and stratified by sex.
Main Results:
- Data from 1317 children (584 boys, 733 girls) were analyzed.
- In boys, higher protein intake was linked to less MVPA. Higher fruit and vegetable intake showed mixed associations, while higher fruit juice intake was linked to less MVPA.
- Conversely, higher fizzy drink and savoury snack consumption in boys was associated with more MVPA and less sedentary behavior. No significant associations were found in girls.
Conclusions:
- The study found limited and often counterintuitive associations between diet and physical activity/sedentary behaviors in children.
- The observed patterns, particularly in boys, warrant further investigation.
- The findings highlight the need to critically evaluate measurement methods for diet and physical activity to understand true associations.
Objectives:
To examine the association between diet and physical activity and sedentary behaviours in 9-10-year-old children.
Study Design:
A cross-sectional study using data from the SPEEDY (Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young People) study undertaken in Norfolk, UK.
Methods:
Data from 4-day food diaries and 7 days of accelerometery were matched on concurrent days. Time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), time spent in sedentary behaviour and various measures of dietary intake were collected. Covariates included age, sex, weight status, family socio-economic status, and energy intake reporting quality. Multivariable regression models, adjusted for clustering of children by school and stratified by sex, were fitted to examine the associations between dietary measures and physical activity and sedentary outcomes.
Results:
In total, 1317 children (584 boys and 733 girls) provided concurrent data. Boys in the highest quartile of energy percentage from protein spent approximately 6 min [95% confidence interval (CI) 0-12] less in MVPA compared with boys in the lowest quartile. Those in the highest quartiles of fruit and vegetable intake and fruit juice intake had respective average activity counts per minute that were 56 above (95% CI 8-105) and 48 below (95% CI 2-95) those in the lowest quartiles, whilst those in the highest quartile of fizzy drink consumption spent approximately 7 min (95% CI 2-13) more in MVPA and approximately 14 min (95% CI 5-24 min) less in sedentary behaviour. Boys in the highest quartile of savoury snack consumption spent approximately 8 min (95% CI 2-13 min) more in MVPA per day, and approximately 12 min (95% CI 2-23) less in sedentary behaviour. No significant associations were apparent among girls.
Conclusions:
Few associations were detected, and the directions of those that were apparent were mainly counterintuitive. The extent to which this reflects a true lack of association or is associated with the measurement methods used for diet and physical activity needs further investigation.
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