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Association between objectively evaluated physical activity and sedentary behavior and screen time in primary school
Chiaki Tanaka1, Maki Tanaka2, Masayuki Okuda3
1Division of Integrated Sciences, J. F. Oberlin University, 3758 Tokiwamachi, Machida, Tokyo, 194-0294, Japan. c-tanaka@obirin.ac.jp.
BMC Research Notes
|May 4, 2017
Summary
Reducing sedentary time in children is crucial, as it
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health and Physical Activity
- Behavioral Science in Children
- Objective Measurement of Physical Activity
Background:
- Children often accumulate significant sedentary time despite meeting physical activity (PA) guidelines.
- Distinguishing between ambulatory and non-ambulatory PA is important for accurate assessment.
- Understanding the relationship between screen time and objectively measured activity is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the associations between objectively measured sedentary time and PA at various intensities in primary school children.
- To examine the relationships between subjectively reported screen time and objectively measured sedentary and PA.
- To explore the impact of reducing sedentary time on different levels of PA.
Main Methods:
- Objective assessment of sedentary time and PA using triaxial accelerometry over 7 days in 426 children (grades 1-6).
- Categorization of sedentary time, light PA (LPA), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), and vigorous PA (VPA) using metabolic equivalents (METs).
- Partial correlation analyses to examine associations between objectively measured sedentary/PA and subjectively reported screen time.
Main Results:
- Objectively measured sedentary time strongly correlated with LPA and overall physical activity level (PAL), moderately with MVPA, and weakly with VPA.
- Subjectively reported screen time showed no significant association with objectively measured sedentary time, PA, or PAL.
- A 30-minute reduction in daily sedentary time was associated with an increase of 6 minutes in MVPA or 23 minutes in LPA.
Conclusions:
- Higher daily sedentary time in children is primarily compensated by lower LPA, with a moderate association with MVPA.
- Improving MVPA and reducing sedentary time are key public health goals for primary school children.
- Objective measurement is essential for understanding the complex interplay between sedentary behavior and physical activity.
