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Sedentary Time Patterns Among Preschoolers: Do Sex Disparities Exist?

María Enid Santiago-Rodríguez1, Karin A Pfeiffer2, Kara K Palmer3

  • 1Department of Physical Therapy, Universidad Ana G. Méndez, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Childhood Obesity (Print)
|April 10, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Preschool girls exhibit higher sedentary time than boys during school hours, potentially impacting their health. This highlights a need for family-based interventions promoting physical activity and healthy habits.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Behavioral Science
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Sedentary time (ST) is a growing public health concern in early childhood.
  • Disaggregating ST into periods like before, during, and after preschool offers insights into specific behavioral patterns.
  • Understanding sex differences in ST is crucial for targeted health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate sex differences in sedentary time (ST) among US preschoolers.
  • To analyze ST patterns specifically before, during, and after preschool hours.
  • To inform the development of effective interventions for childhood obesity prevention.

Main Methods:

  • Secondary analysis of a two-cohort study involving 292 preschoolers from low-income families.
  • Accelerometers worn on the non-dominant wrist for 8 consecutive days to measure ST.
  • Three linear regressions analyzed sex differences in ST, controlling for BMI percentile.

Main Results:

  • Preschool girls demonstrated significantly higher sedentary time (ST) compared to boys during preschool hours (p=0.006).
  • No statistically significant sex differences in ST were observed before or after preschool hours.
  • A trend suggested girls might have higher ST after preschool (p=0.06).

Conclusions:

  • Girls' increased sedentary time during preschool warrants attention due to potential long-term health implications, including obesity.
  • Findings underscore the need for family-centered interventions focusing on physical activity and healthy habits from an early age.
  • Targeted strategies may be necessary to mitigate health disparities related to sedentary behavior in preschool girls.

Keywords:
accelerometryafter preschoolbefore preschoolduring preschool

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