Compliance with the 24-h Movement Guidelines for Portuguese children: differences between boys and girls

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• The 24-hour Movement Guidelines are crucial for children's health, encompassing physical activity (PA), screen time, and sleep.
• Limited data exists on guideline adherence among Portuguese children.
• Understanding adherence is key to developing targeted public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the proportion of Portuguese children meeting individual and combined 24-hour Movement Guidelines.
• To investigate sex-based differences in adherence to these guidelines.
• To highlight the need for promoting healthy movement behaviors in children.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 1351 Portuguese children (aged 7.65 ± 1.21).
• Parent-reported data collected via questionnaire on physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration.
• Analysis of adherence to recommendations for moderate-to-vigorous PA (≥60 min/day), screen time (≤2 h/day), and sleep (9-11 h/day).

Main Results:

• Only 3.7% of children met all three 24-hour Movement Guidelines; 11.9% met none.
• Boys showed higher adherence to PA recommendations, while girls adhered more to screen time recommendations.
• No significant sex differences were observed in meeting all three guidelines combined.
• A substantial 96.3% of children failed to meet all three guidelines.

Conclusions:

• The vast majority of Portuguese children do not meet the 24-hour Movement Guidelines.
• Targeted strategies are needed to promote physical activity, limit screen time, and ensure adequate sleep in children.
• Interventions should address both sexes to improve overall adherence and foster positive health outcomes.