Sociodemographic Differences in Young Children Meeting 24-Hour Movement Guidelines
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026
Holter Monitor: 24-Hour Monitoring
Published on: June 19, 2025
Insights
Few young children meet all 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, with disparities in physical activity, sleep, and screen time. African American children and those in poverty were less likely to meet guidelines for sleep, screen time, and overall movement.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Child Development
Background:
- Limited understanding of adherence to 24-Hour Movement Guidelines in early childhood.
- Guidelines encompass physical activity (PA), sleep, and screen time (ST).
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine sociodemographic variations in meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines among 3-4 year old children.
Main Methods:
- Sociodemographic data collected from parents; ST reported.
- PA and sleep objectively measured via accelerometry.
- Meeting guidelines assessed using chi-square and regression analyses.
Main Results:
- Most children met PA and sleep guidelines, but few met ST or all guidelines.
- African American children and those below poverty level were less likely to meet sleep, ST, and all guidelines.
- No other significant sociodemographic differences were observed.
Conclusions:
- Interventions are needed to address disparities in sleep and screen time adherence.
- Targeted strategies can help reduce inequities in children's movement behaviors.
Background:
Little is known about variation in meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines (including physical activity [PA], sleep, and screen time [ST]) in early childhood. The aim was to evaluate sociodemographic differences in meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines.
Methods:
Parents of 3-4 year old children reported sociodemographic information and ST. Sleep and PA were measured using accelerometry, and height and weight were objectively measured. The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines include daily PA (total PA: ≥3 h; including ≥1 h of moderate to vigorous), sleep (10-13 h), and ST (≤1 h). Meeting guidelines by age, sex, race, poverty level, and weight status were assessed using chi-square and linear regression models.
Results:
Of 107 children, 57% were white and 26% lived in households at or below the poverty level. Most children met the PA (91.5%) and sleep (86.9%) guidelines, but few met ST (14.0%) or all 3 (11.3%) guidelines. African American children and children who lived at or below the poverty level were less likely to meet the sleep, ST, and all 3 guidelines compared with others (P < .01 for all). There were no other differences.
Conclusion:
These results suggest future interventions should focus on reducing differences in movement, namely in sleep and ST.
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