Urban Versus Rural Differences in Meeting 24-h Movement Behaviour Guidelines Among 3-4-Year-Olds: An Analysis of...

Area of Science:

• Global Public Health
• Pediatric Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Young children's insufficient physical activity, excessive screen time, and short sleep are global health concerns.
• Limited data exist on adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) 24-hour movement behavior guidelines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• The relationship between urbanization and young children's movement behaviors in LMICs is largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine differences in meeting WHO 24-hour movement behavior guidelines among 3-4-year-old children in urban versus rural settings within LMICs.
• To assess the prevalence of children meeting guidelines for physical activity, sleep duration, screen time, and sedentary behavior.

Main Methods:

• The SUNRISE Study included 429 child/parent dyads aged 3-4 years from 10 LMICs.
• Objective measurement of physical activity and sleep duration using accelerometers (activPAL) for at least 48 hours.
• Parental questionnaires assessed screen time and time spent restrained; chi-square tests compared urban and rural adherence.

Main Results:

• 17% met physical activity, 57% met sleep, 50% met screen time, and 84% met restraint guidelines.
• Only 4% of children met all combined WHO 24-hour movement guidelines.
• No significant differences were observed in meeting any of the guidelines between urban and rural children.

Conclusions:

• A small proportion of young children in both urban and rural LMICs adhere to WHO 24-hour movement guidelines.
• Interventions to improve children's movement behaviors in LMICs should target both urban and rural populations.
• Further research is needed to understand factors influencing movement behaviors across diverse settings in LMICs.