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Correlates of sedentary behaviour in 8- to 10-year-old children at elevated risk for obesity

Katya M Herman1, Catherine M Sabiston, Marie-Eve Mathieu

  • 1a Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, McGill University, Montreal, QC H2W 1S4, Canada.

Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism = Physiologie Appliquee, Nutrition Et Metabolisme
|November 22, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Children with obese parents who are more sedentary tend to be older, less active, and watch more TV during dinner. Reducing screen time and increasing physical education (PE) classes may help decrease sedentary behavior (SED).

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern, with parental obesity being a significant risk factor.
  • Sedentary behavior (SED) and excessive screen time are key contributors to poor health outcomes in children.
  • Understanding the factors associated with SED is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify correlates of sedentary behavior (SED) in children at high risk for obesity due to parental obesity.
  • To examine associations between SED, screen time, and environmental/familial factors in this at-risk population.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 534 children aged 8-10 years with at least one obese parent.
  • Objective measurements of SED and physical activity (PA) using accelerometers; screen time assessed via self-report.
  • Objective measurements of height, weight, waist circumference, and cardiovascular fitness; child self-report for environmental and familial data.

Main Results:

  • Higher total SED time correlated with older age, higher Tanner stage, greater weight status/waist circumference, less self-reported PA, preference for screen time over PA, maternal endorsement of PA benefits, and fewer weekly physical education (PE) classes.
  • Exceeding 2 hours/day of screen time was linked to older age, male sex, greater weight status/waist circumference, preference for screen time, and dinnertime TV viewing.
  • Children watching TV during dinner had 2.3 times higher odds of exceeding screen time guidelines; those with ≤2 PE classes/week had 2.4 times higher odds of being in the highest SED tertile.

Conclusions:

  • Sedentary children in this cohort were older, more mature, less active, more overweight/obese, had fewer PE classes, and favored screen time over PA, often watching TV during dinner.
  • Physical education (PE) opportunities and mealtime TV habits represent potentially modifiable targets for reducing overall SED and screen time in at-risk children.

Keywords:
activité physiqueexercice physiqueexercisephysical activityphysical educationscreen timestatut pondéraltelevisiontemps d’écrantélévisionweight statuséducation physique

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