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Physical activity in early childhood: a five-year longitudinal analysis of patterns and correlates
Linnea Bergqvist-Norén1, Emilia Hagman2, Lijuan Xiu2
1Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology - Division of Pediatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Blickagången 6A, Stockholm, Huddinge, 141 57, Sweden. linnea.bergqvistnoren@ki.se.
Insights
Young children’s physical activity (PA) increases annually, with higher weekday activity. Maternal PA positively influences child PA, highlighting the need for early interventions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Kinesiology
Background:
- Longitudinal data on young children's physical activity (PA) patterns and influencing factors are limited.
- Understanding these patterns is crucial for developing effective health interventions.
- This study addresses the scarcity of knowledge regarding PA development in early childhood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine longitudinal patterns and changes in accelerometer-measured PA in children aged two to six.
- To investigate the relationship between parental PA, socioeconomic status, sex, weight status, motor skills, and child PA over time.
- To utilize prospective cohort data from a clustered randomized controlled trial for robust analysis.
Main Methods:
- 106 children (52% girls) and their parents had PA measured annually from ages two to six using Actigraph GT3X.
- Actigraphy data (counts per minute) were collected over one week, alongside anthropometric, motor skill, and background information.
- Linear mixed-effect models were employed to analyze the longitudinal data.
Main Results:
- Child PA increased by an average of 11% annually from age two to six.
- Children were more active on weekdays than weekends from age three onwards.
- Maternal PA was significantly positively related to child PA, while sex, weight status, and socioeconomic status showed no significant associations.
Conclusions:
- Childhood PA increases yearly, with distinct weekday/weekend patterns emerging by age three.
- Active parental stimulation, particularly maternal PA, is vital for promoting child PA from early ages.
- Intervention designs should consider weekend PA and target least active children.
Background:
Knowledge on longitudinal patterns and related factors of young children's physical activity (PA) is still scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine patterns and changes of accelerometer-measured PA over time in two to six-year-old children. Furthermore, the aim was to investigate if parental PA, socioeconomic status, sex, weight status, and motor skills are related to child PA over time, using prospective cohort data from a clustered randomized controlled trial.
Methods:
One hundred and six children (52% girls) and their parents had PA measured yearly from age two to six with an Actigraph GT3X. The actigraph was worn on the non-dominant wrist for one week; anthropometric data and motor skills, as well as background information, was collected simultaneously. The outcome was counts per minute from the vector magnitude, and linear mixed-effect models were used to answer the research questions.
Results:
Among the children, accelerometer-measured PA increased on average by 11% per year from two years of age (mean 3170 cpm (3007-3334 95% CI)) onwards to six years of age (mean 4369 cpm (4207-4533 95% CI)). From three years of age, children were more active on weekdays than on weekend days. The rate of difference varied across low, medium, and highly active children (based on tertiles). No significant differences in weekdays/weekend PA among the lowest active children was found. Despite this, they were still significantly less active on weekend days than the most active children. Maternal, but not paternal PA was found to be significantly positively related to child PA over time, with a medium to large effect size. But no significant relationships were found between child PA and sex, weight status, or socioeconomic status.
Conclusions:
PA increased on average with 11% per year, similarly for boys and girls. From three years of age children were more active during weekdays than weekend days. These results indicate that child PA benefits from active stimulation by parents and care takers already from early ages. It is important to identify attributes of possible intervention designs for weekend days for families with young children as well as characterize the least active children.
Trial Registration:
Early STOPP was prospectively registered in the clinical trials registry: clinicaltrials.gov , ID NCT01198847.
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