Correlates of Objectively Measured Physical Activity in Swiss Preschool Children

Abstract

Globally, many children engage in insufficient physical activity (PA) to maintain good health. In order to promote PA among children it is essential to understand the factors associated with children’s PA behavior. However, research on the putative influences on young children’s PA is relatively new and has yielded inconsistent results. PURPOSE: To identify correlates of young children’s PA by simultaneously examining an extended set of potential correlates of objectively measured Total and Moderate-to-Vigorous PA (TPA and MVPA, respectively) from multiple domains (demographic and biological, cognitive/emotional, behavioral, social/cultural and physical environment). METHODS: Cross-sectional data were used from the Swiss Preschooler’s Health Study (SPLASHY), a Swiss population-based cohort study. 397 (52% boys) 2- to 6-year old children attending 84 randomly selected childcare centers had valid PA data assessed with accelerometry (ActiGraph) and exposure data collected either by direct measurement or parental questionnaires. After checking for multicollinearity, 35 potential correlates of PA were examined using multilevel linear models. All explanatory variables moderately associated (p<0.1) with TPA and/or MVPA were included in the final model. Variables that remained significant (p<0.05) were considered correlates of TPA and MVPA, respectively. RESULTS: MVPA minutes were greater in boys and increased with age, better gross motor skills and higher activity sub-score of the Emotionality Activity and Sociability temperament survey (EAS-activity). In summer (June-August), children were less active than during the spring and fall months. Similarly, TPA counts were positively associated with age and EAS-activity score, and greater in boys. Children living in a single-parent household as well as those who spent more time outdoors and had a higher number of fixed toys at home were more physically active. CONCLUSIONS: Six correlates of TPA and MVPA, respectively, have been identified in Swiss preschool children, which illustrates that only a few modifiable factors can be tackled in interventions to increase PA in preschoolers.