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Using functional data analysis to understand daily activity levels and patterns in primary school-aged children:
Francesco Sera1, Lucy J Griffiths2, Carol Dezateux2
1Department of Social and Environmental Health Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Insights
Physical activity (PA) in children varies by time of day, season, and behavior. Functional data analysis revealed patterns linked to sex, ethnicity, and lifestyle, informing public health strategies for childhood PA.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric epidemiology
- Behavioral science
- Public health
Background:
- Effective strategies to increase children's physical activity (PA) require temporal characterization.
- Evidence on determinants of childhood PA and their time-dependent patterns is inconclusive.
- This study identifies diurnal and seasonal PA patterns in UK primary school children using objective accelerometer data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model temporal profiles of daily activity in children.
- To identify diurnal and seasonal physical activity (PA) patterns.
- To investigate demographic and behavioral determinants of these PA patterns.
Main Methods:
- Utilized functional data analysis (FDA) with splines to model 6,497 daily PA profiles.
- Employed functional analysis of variance (ANOVA) to analyze cross-sectional relationships.
- Data collected from a nationally representative sample of UK primary school children using accelerometers.
Main Results:
- Significant diurnal and time-specific variations in PA by sex, ethnicity, UK country, and season.
- Girls exhibited lower PA than boys during school breaks; Indian ethnicity children were less active during school hours.
- Social activities (sports clubs, playing with friends) correlated with higher PA in afternoons/evenings.
Conclusions:
- Diminished physical activity (PA) in primary school children is temporally patterned.
- PA levels are associated with modifiable behavioral factors, such as travel to school and household car use.
- Functional data analysis (FDA) can inform public health policies to promote childhood PA.
Background:
Temporal characterisation of physical activity in children is required for effective strategies to increase physical activity (PA). Evidence regarding determinants of physical activity in childhood and their time-dependent patterns remain inconclusive. We used functional data analysis (FDA) to model temporal profiles of daily activity, measured objectively using accelerometers, to identify diurnal and seasonal PA patterns in a nationally representative sample of primary school-aged UK children. We hypothesised that PA levels would be lower in girls than boys at play times and after school, higher in children participating in social forms of exercise (such as sport or play), and lower among those not walking to school.
Methods:
Children participating in the UK-wide Millennium Cohort Study wore an Actigraph GT1M accelerometer for seven consecutive days during waking hours. We modelled 6,497 daily PA profiles from singleton children (3,176 boys; mean age: 7.5 years) by means of splines, and used functional analysis of variance to examine the cross-sectional relation of time and place of measurement, demographic and behavioural characteristics to smoothed PA profiles.
Results:
Diurnal and time-specific patterns of activity showed significant variation by sex, ethnicity, UK country and season of measurement; girls were markedly less active than boys during school break times than boys, and children of Indian ethnicity were significantly less active during school hours (9:30-12:00). Social activities such as sport clubs, playing with friends were associated with higher level of PA in afternoon (15:00-17:30) and early evenings (17:30-19:30). Lower PA levels between 8:30-9:30 and 17:30-19:30 were associated with mode of travel to and from school, and number of cars in regular use in the household.
Conclusion:
Diminished PA in primary school aged children is temporally patterned and related to modifiable behavioural factors. FDA can be used to inform and evaluate public health policies to promote childhood PA.
