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Compliance With the 24-h Movement Behaviours Guidelines Among Brazilian Toddlers
Jessica Gomes Mota1, Rafael Miranda Tassitano2, Luís Lemos3
1Department of Physical Education, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Paraíba, Itaporanga, Paraíba, Brazil.
Insights
Only 21% of Brazilian toddlers met the 24-hour movement guidelines. While physical activity compliance was high, screen time compliance was low, indicating a need for targeted interventions for healthy development.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Limited data exists on toddler adherence to WHO 24-Hour Movement Guidelines.
- These guidelines encompass physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration, crucial for early development.
- This study addresses this gap by examining compliance in low-income Brazilian toddlers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the proportion of low-income Brazilian toddlers meeting the WHO 24-Hour Movement Guidelines.
- To analyze compliance rates for physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration individually and collectively.
- To identify specific behavioral components with low adherence for targeted interventions.
Main Methods:
- Objective measurement of physical activity using Actigraph wGT3X accelerometers in 144 toddlers (12-35 months).
- Parent-reported data collected for sleep duration and screen time.
- Descriptive statistics and chi-square/Mann-Whitney tests used to analyze compliance by age and sex.
Main Results:
- Overall compliance with the 24-hour movement guidelines was low, at only 21%.
- High compliance was observed for physical activity (approx. 98.6%) and sleep duration (approx. 60-74%).
- Screen time compliance was notably low (23.9% for boys, 32.9% for girls).
Conclusions:
- Interventions should prioritize reducing screen time among low-income Brazilian toddlers.
- Strategies to maintain high physical activity levels are also important.
- Addressing screen time is key to improving overall adherence to movement guidelines in this population.
Background:
Compliance with the WHO 24-Hour Movement Guidelines (i.e., physical activity, screen time and sleep duration) has been reported in studies comprising children in the early years. Despite the importance of these behaviours for healthy development, there is limited data on the proportion of toddlers who meet these recommendations. This study reported the compliance with the 24-h movement behaviours guidelines among low-income Brazilian toddlers.
Methods:
Physical activity (PA) was objectively measured using Actigraph wGT3X accelerometer in 144 toddlers (73 girls; 12-35 months of age). Sleep duration and screen time were parent-reported. Descriptive analyses were performed, and toddlers were classified as compliant/noncompliant with the 24-h movement guidelines, according to age and sex. The chi-square test and the Mann-Whitney test were used to explore differences and association according to age and sex.
Results:
Only 21% of the assessed toddlers complied with the overall movement behaviours guidelines. The highest prevalence of compliance was observed for PA among both boys and girls (98.63% and 98.59%, respectively), and among 1- and 2-year-old toddlers (100% and 97.61%, respectively). In contrast, the lowest compliance rates were observed for screen time (23.94% for boys and 32.87% for girls; and 16.66% for 1-year-old and 36.90% for 2-year-old toddlers). More than 60% of the assessed toddlers complied with sleep duration recommendation (74.64% and 67.12% for boys and girls, respectively; 73.33% and 69.04%, for 1-year-old and 2-year-olds, respectively).
Conclusion:
Implementing strategies to encourage toddlers' compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines in Brazilian low-income families should focus on maintaining PA levels and reducing screen time.
