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Infants' and toddlers' physical activity and sedentary time as measured by accelerometry: a systematic review and
Brianne A Bruijns1, Stephanie Truelove1, Andrew M Johnson2
1Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Program, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Insights
Early physical activity (PA) is crucial for lifelong healthy habits. This review found toddlers exceed PA recommendations but spend little time at higher intensities, with significant sedentary time (ST) also observed.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Kinesiology
Background:
- Early life physical activity (PA) and minimizing sedentary time (ST) are vital for establishing lifelong healthy movement behaviors.
- Promoting PA from infancy and reducing ST are critical public health goals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and meta-analyze movement behaviors, including PA and ST, in infants and toddlers during daytime hours.
- To examine accelerometer-based PA and ST data in young children.
Main Methods:
- A systematic search of seven databases identified 4873 articles, with 24 studies meeting inclusion criteria.
- Two reviewers assessed original research in English using accelerometry to measure PA (counts/min) and ST (min/day).
- Meta-analysis aggregated toddler data, with moderating variables like accelerometer placement and device type analyzed.
Main Results:
- Data from 3699 participants across 24 studies (2011-2019) were analyzed.
- Infant PA estimates were highly variable; toddler total PA averaged 246 min/day, light PA 194 min/day, and moderate-to-vigorous PA 60 min/day.
- Toddlers averaged 337 min/day of sedentary time (ST).
Conclusions:
- Infant PA data are limited and heterogeneous, requiring more research.
- Toddlers generally meet total PA recommendations but lack sufficient time in higher intensity activities.
- Despite high PA, toddlers exhibit substantial ST, highlighting the need for standardized measurement protocols.
Background:
Early experiences in physical activity (PA) are important to shape healthy movement behaviours long-term; as such, it is critical that PA is promoted from infancy, and that detrimental behaviours (e.g., prolonged sedentary time [ST]) are minimized. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine infants' and toddlers' movement behaviours across daytime hours.
Methods:
Seven online databases were searched for terms related to infants (< 12 months), toddlers (12-35.9 months), PA, ST, and accelerometry. Two independent reviewers examined 4873 articles for peer-reviewed original research, published in English, that assessed infants' (counts/min) and/or toddlers' PA or ST (min/day) using accelerometry across daytime hours. Infants' mean PA level (counts/min) was averaged across studies, and ranges were produced. Estimates of toddlers' movement behaviours were aggregated meta-analytically to produce average daily rates, and accelerometer placement, cut-point validity, device type, and epoch length were tested as a moderating variables.
Results:
Twenty-four studies from 16 countries (published 2011-2019), representing 3699 participants, were included in the systematic review. Five studies reported on infants' PA, which ranged from 78.2 to 2580.5 cpm. Across 20 studies, toddlers' total PA, light PA, moderate-to vigorous-intensity PA, and ST ranged from 72.9 to 636.5, 48.5 to 582.4, 6.5 to 89.9, and 172.7 to 545.0 min/day, respectively. After taking into account accelerometer placement, cut-point validity, device type, and epoch length, we found that toddlers engaged in 246.19 min/day (SE = 28.50; 95% CI: 190.34, 302.04) of total PA, 194.10 min/day (SE = 28.76; 95% CI: 137.73, 250.47) of light PA, and 60.16 min/day (SE = 5.88; 95% CI: 48.64, 71.69) of moderate-to vigorous-intensity PA. Toddlers engaged in 337.04 min/day (SE = 32.67; 95% CI: 273.01, 401.07) of ST.
Conclusions:
With limited studies conducted in infants (n = 5), PA estimates are inconclusive and largely heterogeneous. Overall, toddlers tend to exceed the total PA recommendation of 180 min/day; however, very little of this time is spent at higher movement intensities. Even with high PA rates, toddlers still engage in substantial ST. More consistent and valid measurement protocols are needed to improve comparability across studies.
