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Objectively measured physical activity in two-year-old children - levels, patterns and correlates
Elin Johansson1,2, Maria Hagströmer3, Viktoria Svensson4
1Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Science, Technology and Intervention, Division of Pediatrics, Stockholm, Sweden. Elin.johansson@ki.se.
Insights
Two-year-old children exhibit intermittent physical activity, with nearly half their day spent active. Individual variations in activity levels appear to be primarily endogenous, not linked to parental weight or other factors.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Behavioral Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Investigated physical activity and sedentary behavior in 2-year-old Swedish children.
- Examined associations with parental weight status (normal vs. overweight/obese).
- Utilized data from the Early Stockholm Obesity Prevention Project study.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the levels, patterns, and correlates of physical activity and sedentary behavior.
- To understand factors influencing activity in early childhood.
Main Methods:
- 123 children wore accelerometers for seven days.
- Assessed average activity (counts per minute), steps, and time in low/high-intensity physical activity and sedentary behavior.
- Analyzed differences between weekdays/weekends and correlations with sex, BMI, motor skills, and family factors.
Main Results:
- Children spent 11% of the day in high-intensity activity and 55% sedentary.
- Weekday activity included 363 more steps and 6 more minutes of low-intensity activity compared to weekends.
- No significant associations were found with sex, BMI, motor skills, or parental factors.
Conclusions:
- Two-year-olds display an intermittent activity pattern, with roughly half the day spent active.
- Activity patterns were similar on weekdays and weekends.
- Individual variations in activity are likely due to endogenous factors rather than external influences like parental characteristics.
Background:
The aim was to describe levels, patterns and correlates of physical activity and sedentary behavior in a sample of Swedish children, two years of age, with normal weight, overweight and obese parents.
Methods:
Data from 123 children, 37 with normal-weight parents and 86 with overweight/obese parents, enrolled in the Early Stockholm Obesity Prevention Project study was used. Children wore an Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer for seven days. Average activity (counts per minute), number of steps and time spent in low and high-intensity physical activity and in sedentary was assessed. Differences between weekdays and weekend days were examined as were correlations with sex, body mass index (BMI), motor skills and family-related factors.
Results:
Children were active at high intensity 11% of the day. On average 55% of the day was spent being sedentary. Number of steps and time in low-intensity physical activity differed between weekdays and weekend days: on weekdays, 363 more steps (p = 0.01) and six more minutes in low physical activity (p = 0.04). No differences were found for any physical activity or sedentary behavior variable by sex, BMI, motor skills or any family-related variable (p = 0.07 - 0.95).
Conclusions:
Two-year-old children have an intermittent activity pattern, that is almost similar on weekdays and they spend about half of the daytime active. The absence of any association with sex, BMI, motor skills or parental factors indicates that the individual variation in this age group is primarily due to endogenous factors.
Trial Registration:
Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01198847 .
