Disentangling Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Patterns in Children with Low Motor Competence.

Dave H.H Van Kann,Steven B Vos,Martin L Van Dijk,Anoek M Adank,Teun Remmers

doi:10.3390/ijerph16203804

Abstract

Children with low motor competence (MC) are at high-risk for physical inactivity, yet little is known about their physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) patterns throughout the day. The purpose of this study is to disentangle PA and SB patterns among children with low MC across segmented day periods taking into account differences in gender and age. Data collection took place between May and July 2017. The Athletic Skills Track was used to measure MC. PA levels were objectively measured using accelerometers (ActiGraph, GT3X+) on school days. Data were segmented for (1) time before school, (2) time during school (based on school schedules), and (3) time after school. In total, data from 117 7-to-11 years-old children with low MC were eligible for analyses (N = 58 girls; N = 59 boys). Differences in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and SB between segmented periods, gender, and grade were analyzed by ANOVAs with post hoc tests (Tukey) and Independent Sample T-tests respectively. Time spent at school is the major contributor of time spent in SB in children with low MC. Low MC is equally distributed among gender, but large differences exist among boys and girls in both MVPA and SB, indicating low-MC girls as most inactive group. This pattern is found in all segmented periods of the school day, i.e., before, during, and after school. This study stresses the negative contribution of current school curricula on PA and SB in children with low MC, indicating the most efficient period of the day to intervene. Future school-based PA and SB interventions should particularly focus on specific high-risk populations, i.e., children with low MC, and girls in particular.

Highlights

Many young people’s physical activity (PA) levels are insufficient to gain health benefits [1,2].Besides insufficient PA and excessive sedentary behavior (SB), declines in elements of motor competence (MC), such as motor fitness, have been reported over the last decades [3]
The main finding of this study was that children with low MC are less active at school compared to other time periods during a school day, i.e., before and after school
Grade-6 children spent more time in SB compared to grade-4 children [23,26,43], while time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) did not differ significantly

Summary

Introduction

Many young people’s physical activity (PA) levels are insufficient to gain health benefits [1,2]. Besides insufficient PA and excessive sedentary behavior (SB), declines in elements of motor competence (MC), such as motor fitness, have been reported over the last decades [3]. The term MC is an umbrella concept to describe goal-directed human behavior and is covering a wide variety of terminology (e.g., fundamental movement skills and motor ability) [4]. Low MC has a negative impact on the physical, cognitive, and social development of children [5]. MC is related to PA levels [6,7,8] and sedentary behavior (SB) [9,10].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion