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Association Between Meeting 24-Hour Movement Behavior Guidelines and Adiposity Among Portuguese Children
Peter T Katzmarzyk1, Jose Maia2, Fernando Garbeloto2,3
1Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA,USA.
Insights
Meeting 24-hour movement guidelines, including physical activity, sleep, and screen time, is linked to lower adiposity markers in children. Adhering to these guidelines is crucial for maintaining a healthy weight and reducing obesity risks in youth.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Obesity Research
- Public Health Guidelines
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing global concern.
- Adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines is increasingly recognized as vital for child well-being.
- Understanding the specific associations between these guidelines and adiposity markers is essential for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines and various adiposity indicators in children.
- To assess how meeting recommendations for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sleep duration, and screen time impacts body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and body fat percentage.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 910 children aged 6-10 years in Northern Portugal.
- Movement guidelines defined as: MVPA ≥60 min/day, sleep 9-11 hours/night, screen time ≤2 hours/day.
- Objective measurements using accelerometry for MVPA and sleep; parental report for screen time.
Main Results:
- Only 23% of children met all three movement guidelines.
- Meeting individual guidelines (MVPA, sleep, screen time) was associated with lower BMI z-scores and waist circumference.
- Meeting MVPA and sleep guidelines correlated with a lower waist-to-height ratio, while meeting MVPA alone was linked to lower body fat percentage.
- A significant linear trend showed that meeting more guidelines was associated with progressively lower adiposity markers (P < .01).
Conclusions:
- Adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines is significantly associated with reduced adiposity in Portuguese children.
- These findings underscore the importance of promoting comprehensive movement behaviors for preventing childhood obesity.
Purpose:
To determine the association between meeting 24-hour movement guidelines and markers of adiposity in children, including body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and percentage body fat.
Methods:
The sample included 910 children aged 6-10 years from Northern Portugal. Meeting the 24-hour movement guidelines was defined as (1) moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA): ≥60 minutes per day, (2) sleep: 9 to 11 hours/night, and (3) screen time: ≤2 hours per day. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sleep duration were assessed with wrist-worn accelerometry over 7 days, and screen time was assessed by parental report.
Results:
A total of 5.4% of the sample met none of the guidelines, whereas 23% met all 3 guidelines. Children who met individual guidelines (MVPA, screen time, and sleep) had significantly lower levels of body mass index z-scores and waist circumference, whereas those who met the MVPA and sleep guidelines had lower waist-to-height ratio. Those who met the MVPA guideline had lower percentage body fat than those who did not. There were significant linear trends (all P < .01) between the number of guidelines met (0, 1, 2, and 3) and lower levels of all markers of adiposity.
Conclusions:
We found significant associations between meeting 24-hour guidelines and lower levels of adiposity among Portuguese children.
