Associations between Adherence to Combinations of 24-h Movement Guidelines and Overweight and Obesity in Japanese Preschool Children

Abstract

The interactions between movement behaviors (physical activity, screen time, and sleep) affect the health of preschool children. Therefore, we examined the status of adherence to combinations of 24-hour movement guidelines (24-h MG) in Japanese preschool children and determined the associations between overweight/obesity and adherence to these 24-h MG. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 421 children aged 3–5 years (216 boys and 199 girls) living in the northeastern region of Japan. To evaluate the 24-h MG, physical activity over one week was measured using a three-axis accelerometer. For screen time and sleep duration, a questionnaire survey was conducted. Children who failed to meet all the 24-h MG had a higher probability of overweight/obesity than those who met all the 24-h MG (odds ratio 1.139, 95% confidence interval: 1.009, 1.285). The percentage of adherence to the 24-h MG was 91.6% for physical activity, 82.5% for sleep duration, and 33.7% for screen time, and only 21.5% of the children adhered to all three areas of the guidelines. Our findings have important implications for developing public health policies and effective intervention programs for preschool children.

Association between Compliance with Movement Behavior Guidelines and Obesity among Malaysian Preschoolers

“…This suggests that compliance to movement behavior guidelines was associated with lower odds of overweight or obesity. This finding is consistent with another study which reported that Japanese preschool children who failed to meet movement behavior guidelines were more likely to experience overweight or obesity as compared to children who met all guidelines (OR: 1.139; 95% CI: 1.009–1.285) [ 18 ]. Preschoolers in China also showed lower odds for overweight and obesity when meeting screen time guidelines compared to those who did not meet screen time guidelines [ 19 ].…”

“…The key finding indicates that up to 17% of preschoolers did not meet any of the physical activity, sedentary screen time and sleep time guidelines. This percentage was the highest as compared to studies conducted in Singapore (11.2%) [ 44 ], Australia (7.4%) [ 45 ], Japan (3.6%) [ 18 ], Canada (3%) [ 21 ], Belgium (2.9%) [ 46 ], China (2.7%) [ 19 ] and Sweden (0.5%) [ 20 ]. The present study found that only a very small percentage (6.5%) of preschoolers in Kuala Lumpur met all three guidelines.…”

“…Additionally, these healthy behaviors also improve motor development, cardiometabolic health and cardiorespiratory fitness in children and adolescents [ 13 , 14 , 17 ]. For instance, Japanese children aged 3 to 5 years who do not meet all these healthy behavior guidelines had higher odds (OR: 1.139; 95% CI: 1.009–1.285) of overweight and obesity [ 18 ] compared to those who meet the guidelines. Another study among Chinese children aged 4 to 6 years showed that screen time is associated with high odds (OR: 3.76; 95% CI: 1.50–9.45) of overweight and obesity [ 19 ].…”

“…Moreover, physical activity and screen activities of Malaysian school-aged children have been associated with obesity [ 24 ]. The beneficial effects of physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep on preschoolers’ body weight status are mostly reported by studies conducted in high income countries such as Sweden, Greece, USA, Japan and Canada [ 13 , 18 , 20 , 21 ]. There is a lack of similar studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries, especially among the preschooler age group.…”

Screen Time and Developmental Health: Results from an Early Childhood Study in Canada

“…These associations were statistically signi cant over and above children's further health behaviors -physical activity and sleep, as well as income and other demographics. Our results substantiate the ndings from previous research that have shown a negative link between screen time and physical [50], social-emotional [51] and mental health [9] outcomes among preschool-aged children.…”