The Use of Accelerometers in Young Children: A Methodological Scoping Review

Abstract

The purpose of this scoping review was to examine publications using accelerometers in children aged 6 months to <6 years and report on current methodologies used for data collection and analyses. We examined device make and model, device placement, sampling frequency, data collection protocol, definition of nonwear time, inclusion criteria, epoch duration, and cut points. Five online databases and three gray literature databases were searched. Studies were included if they were published in English between January 2009 and March 2021. A total of 627 articles were included for descriptive analyses. Of the reviewed articles, 75% used ActiGraph devices. The most common device placement was hip or waist. More than 80% of articles did not report a sampling frequency, and 7-day protocols during only waking hours were the most frequently reported. Fifteen-second epoch durations and the cut points developed by Pate et al. in 2006 were the most common. A total of 203 articles did not report which definition of nonwear time was used; when reported, “20 minutes of consecutive zeros” was the most frequently used. Finally, the most common inclusion criteria were “greater or equal to 10 hr/day for at least 3 days” for studies conducted in free-living environments and “greater than 50% of the school day” for studies conducted in preschool or childcare environments. Results demonstrated a major lack of reporting of methods used to analyze accelerometer data from young children. A list of recommended reporting practices was developed to encourage increased reporting of key methodological details for research in this area.