Correlates of Objectively Measured Sedentary Behavior in US Preschool Children

Abstract

To identify correlates of objectively measured sedentary behavior in a diverse sample of preschool children. A total of 331 children (51% male, 51% black) from a wide range of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds in greater Columbia, South Carolina, were recruited for this study. Sedentary behavior (minutes/hour) was measured by using ActiGraph accelerometers (<37.5 counts per 15 seconds) over a 2-week period. All potential correlates except for anthropometric data of children were measured by a parent survey. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between 29 potential correlates across multiple domains (demographic, biological, psychosocial, behavioral, and physical environmental) and sedentary behavior measured by accelerometry in preschool children. Girls spent more time in sedentary behavior than boys (33.2 vs 32.4 minutes/hour; P = .05). Six and 8 potential correlates were found to be significant in univariate analyses for boys and girls, respectively. In the gender-specific final model, for boys, a child's weekday TV/video games and physical activity equipment in the home were significant correlates of sedentary behavior (R(2) = 0.091). For girls, BMI z score and child's athletic coordination were significantly associated with sedentary behavior (R(2) = 0.069). Several factors were identified as correlates of objectively measured sedentary behavior in American preschool children. However, there were no common correlates that influenced sedentary behavior for both boys and girls. Future interventions for reducing sedentary behavior could target correlates identified in this study.