Developmental trends in young children's device-measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour

Area of Science:

• Pediatric physical activity research.
• Developmental trends in child movement behaviors.
• Public health guidelines for children's activity.

Background:

• Limited understanding of developmental trends in meeting 24-hour movement behavior guidelines.
• Need to examine physical activity and sedentary time changes in early childhood.
• Investigating adherence to age-specific guidelines before and after school transition.

Purpose of the Study:

• Describe developmental trends in device-measured physical activity and sedentary time.
• Analyze changes over three years in children aged two to seven.
• Compare trends between boys and girls and assess guideline adherence.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the PLAYCE cohort study (n=1217).
• Measured physical activity and sedentary time via accelerometry (ages 2-5 and 5-7).
• Analyzed data using mixed-effects models with age and sex interactions.

Main Results:

• Total physical activity increased then declined; energetic play (MVPA) increased but remained below guidelines for most ages.
• Sedentary time decreased then increased but stayed lower than at age two.
• Guideline adherence decreased with age, with few children meeting MVPA recommendations by age seven.

Conclusions:

• Energetic play and total physical activity increase with age, but MVPA guidelines are unmet by most children aged 3-7.
• Interventions should prioritize increasing energetic play in early childhood.
• Enhanced guidance and strategies are needed to support children's evolving movement guidelines.