Associations Between Meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and Cardiometabolic Risk in Young Children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Public Health
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Cardiometabolic risk (CMR) is a growing concern in early childhood.
• Understanding the role of integrated movement behaviors (physical activity, screen time, sleep) is crucial for developing effective interventions.
• Current guidelines for young children integrate these behaviors, but their impact on CMR needs further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between adherence to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years and cardiometabolic risk factors in children aged 3-4 years.
• To determine if meeting recommendations for physical activity, screen viewing, and sleep influences CMR indicators.
• To identify specific CMR factors associated with guideline adherence.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 767 children aged 3-4 years.
• Parent-reported data collected for physical activity, screen viewing, and sleep duration.
• Clinical measurements of waist circumference, glucose, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure.
• Calculation of a total CMR score and analysis of individual CMR factors.

Main Results:

• A significant portion of children (26.4%) met none of the movement guidelines.
• Adherence to the guidelines was not significantly associated with the overall CMR score or most individual CMR factors.
• Meeting the guidelines was, however, associated with favorable high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels (OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.11-2.33).

Conclusions:

• Adherence to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines in early childhood is not associated with overall cardiometabolic risk.
• The guidelines show a positive association with favorable cholesterol profiles in young children.
• Further research may explore targeted interventions to improve both movement behaviors and cardiometabolic health outcomes.