Abstract
Accompanying the transition from early to middle childhood are substantial changes in children’s educational and recreational circumstances. These changes may affect physical activity levels. This study examined levels of physical activity and sedentary behaviours in kindergarten (age range 5–6 years) and grade 2 (age range 7–8 years). Participants were 96 kindergarten children recruited in the 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 school years and 94 grade 2 children recruited in the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 school years. A sub-cohort of children was tracked longitudinally from kindergarten to grade 2. Accelerometers were used to measure physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Independent t-tests revealed that children in grade 2 spent significantly less time engaged in physical activity compared to those in kindergarten (292 min/day compared with 354 min/day) and more in sedentary behaviours (443 min/day compared with 368 min/day). For the longitudinal sample, the pattern was similar. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant decrease in physical activity levels (364 min/day to 292 min/day) and a significant increase in sedentary behaviour (368 min/day to 435 min/day) over time. There is a critical need to invest in strategies to maintain higher levels of physical activity across the primary years and reduce sedentary time, since these behaviours affect health outcomes.
Highlights
The Canadian 24-h movement guidelines for children and youth recommend that children5–17 years of age accumulate a minimum of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)per day to achieve health benefits [1]
The present study extends the work of Janz and colleagues [21] by using cut-points (4 metabolic equivalent (MET) for MVPA) and sampling rates (15-s epochs) that should produce a more accurate estimate of children’s physical activity
To contribute methodologically to the literature, we examined whether the differences between MVPA measured at 3 METs and 4 METs would be meaningful and whether the findings from the cross-sectional sample would be different to those collected in the longitudinal sample
Summary
The Canadian 24-h movement guidelines for children and youth recommend that children5–17 years of age accumulate a minimum of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)per day to achieve health benefits [1]. When fewer days per week were examined, 40% and 80% of Canadian children achieved the recommended daily 60 min of MVPA at least three days and at least one day per week, respectively [4]. While these data illustrate that 60 min of MVPA in a single day is achievable for Canadian children, consistency continues to be problematic. Consistent engagement in MVPA has gained considerable attention in the physical activity and public health literature because of the health benefits associated with regular participation [4,5,6,7,8,9]
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