Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors of Young Children: Trends from 2009 to 2018

Abstract

Over the last decade, the lives of children in several countries, including Greece, have been affected by recession. The aim of the present study was (a) to examine time trends in physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) of Greek preschool children, together with their family affluence (FA), from 2009 until 2018, and to explore the associations among them; and (b) to investigate the connections of parental educational level and children’s BMIs to their achieving ST (<1 h/day) and PA (11,500 steps/day) guidelines. A total of 652 children from four cross-sectional cohorts participated. PA was recorded with Omron HJ-720IT-E2 pedometers, whereas ST, family affluence (FA) and parental educational level were reported by participants’ parents. The results of the one-way ANOVAs that were computed revealed statistically significant differences among cohorts, albeit of no practical importance, in PA, ST and FA. According to the regressions calculated, neither BMI nor the educational level was related to membership in ST and PA guidelines groups. ST was a significant predictor of children’s PA in all week periods (school-time, leisure-time, weekend), whereas FA was not such a strong predictor. Multilevel interventions aiming at both ST and PA seem to be imperative for the benefit of young children’s health.

Screen time of preschool children in relation to their parents screen usage habits and family functions

“…Children now-a-days are growing up in a digital world, which has led to an increase in children's screen time [1][2][3] . Increased screen time has resulted in a conflict between education and industry authors and health authors, and the dilemmas have contributed to an increase in research on this issue in the recent years 2,4 .…”

Teaching Methodologies and School Organization in Early Childhood Education and Its Association with Physical Activity

“…Early childhood (up to five years of age) represents a crucial period for the physical, social, affective, mental and emotional development of children [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ] in which the development of basic motor skills, perceptual-motor factors, physical capacities, and psychosocial variables should be emphasized [ 1 , 5 ]. Furthermore, at this robust and rapid growth stage in cognitive development, a strong connection between action and cognition begins to be built [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

“…A fundamental role in this process is played by physical activity (PA), since its practice during early childhood offers a wide range of physical, physiological and psychosocial benefits [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 ], and contributes to cognitive development and learning [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. This is because aerobic exercise can cause changes at various levels, including morphological and functional changes in the brain, and these changes have a significant effect on cognition and behavior [ 5 , 6 , 11 , 18 ].…”

“…There is a belief that PA is intrinsic to children’s behavior, leading to the assumption that young children are sufficiently active per se [ 18 , 19 ]. However, studies show that children do not meet recommended PA guidelines as early as preschool [ 2 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

“…Since PA is essential to promote physical and cognitive health and well-being of young children, an accurate assessment of these factors is becoming increasingly important, with recent research highlighting the need for further evidence [ 1 , 2 , 19 , 21 , 22 ]. Nonetheless, the previously described belief, together with the challenges of measuring both PA and cognitive processes in early childhood may have limited the research carried out in this age group [ 8 , 11 ].…”