Socioeconomic position and childhood sedentary time: evidence from the PEACH project

Richard M Pulsford,Pippa Griew,Melvyn M Hillsdon,Ashley R Cooper,Angie S Page

doi:10.1186/1479-5868-10-105

Abstract

BackgroundAssociations between socioeconomic position (SEP) and sedentary behaviour in children are unclear. Existing studies have used aggregate measures of weekly sedentary time that could mask important differences in the relationship between SEP and sedentary time at different times of the day or between weekdays and weekend days. These studies have also employed a variety of measures of SEP which may be differentially associated with sedentary time. This paper examines associations of multiple indicators of SEP and accelerometer-measured, temporally specific, sedentary time in school children.MethodsBetween 2006 and 2007 sedentary time data (minutes spent below 100 accelerometer counts per minute) for weekdays before-school (7.00-8.59AM), during school-time (9.00AM-2.59PM) and after-school (3.00PM-11.00PM), and weekend days were recorded for 629 10–11 year old children using accelerometers. Ordinary least squares regression was used to examine associations with 5 indicators of SEP (area deprivation, annual household income, car ownership, parental education and access to a private garden). Covariates were; gender, BMI, minutes of daylight, accelerometer wear time and school travel method. Analyses were conducted in 2012.ResultsFollowing adjustments for covariates, having a parent educated to university degree level was associated with more minutes of school (5.87 [95% CI 1.72, 10.04]) and after-school (6.04 [95% CI 0.08, 12.16]) sedentary time. Quartiles of area deprivation (most to least deprived) were positively associated with after-school (Q2: 4.30 [95% CI −6.09, 14.70]; Q3: 10.77 [95% CI 0.47, 21.06]; Q4: 12.74 [95% CI 2.65, 22.84]; Ptrend = 0.04) and weekend (Q2: 26.34 [95% CI 10.16, 42.53]; Q3: 33.28 [95% CI 16.92, 49.65]; Q4: 29.90 [95% CI 14.20, 45.60]; Ptrend = 0.002) sedentary time. Having a garden was associated with less sedentary time after-school (−14.39 [95% CI −25.14, -3.64]) and at weekends (−27.44 [95% CI −43.11, -11.78]).ConclusionsAssociations between SEP and children’s sedentary-time varied by SEP indicator and time of day. This highlights the importance of measuring multiple indicators of SEP and examining context specific sedentary time in children in order to fully understand how SEP influences this behaviour. Further research should combine self-report and objective data to examine associations with specific sedentary behaviours in the contexts within which they occur, as well as total sedentary time.

Highlights

Associations between socioeconomic position (SEP) and sedentary behaviour in children are unclear
In order to gain a clearer understanding of the association between SEP and childhood sedentary time this study examined the influence of a range of indicators of SEP on objectively assessed sedentary time on weekdays before, during and after school, and on weekend days
Those included in the analyses were more likely to be from households in less deprived areas, with a higher annual income, a greater number of cars and where a parent was qualified to university degree level or higher (Ptrends

Summary

Introduction

Associations between socioeconomic position (SEP) and sedentary behaviour in children are unclear. A number of studies have observed that children with a lower SEP (as defined by family income, parental education or employment, or area deprivation) engage in higher levels of screen-based sedentary behaviour [13,14,15,16,17]. Positive, [22] inverse, [23] and null [10,18,23,24,25,26] associations have been observed with measures including maternal education, household income and area deprivation Such SEP indicators measure different, often related aspects of socioeconomic stratification [27] which can act at different levels (e.g. individual, household, neighbourhood), [28,29] at different time points, [30,31] and through different causal pathways [32,33,34]. As the choice of SEP indicator may determine the strength and direction of associations between sedentary time and health, wherever possible it is beneficial to utilise multiple indicators at more than one level [35]

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Discussion

Conclusion