Physical Activity During the Early Years

Abstract

Context: Being physically active during the early years (age 0-6 years) is vital for healthy development. Identifying correlates and determinants of physical activity (PA) is crucial to guide effective interventions. This systematic review synthesized studies investigating potential correlates and determinants of PA during the early years, accounting for different types of PA assessment.Evidence acquisition: Nine electronic databases were searched from inception year (1900) until September 2014; data were analyzed/interpreted in April 2015. Inclusion criteria were: written in English, published in peer-reviewed journals, participants not in statutory/school education, and an observational design investigating associations between an exposure/variable and a quantitative measure of PA. Correlates/determinants of total, moderate to vigorous, and light PA were reported using an ecological model. Evidence synthesis: Of 22,045 identified studies, 130 were included. All took place in highincome countries and few (6%) were of high quality. Correlates of total PA were sex (male, ++), parental PA (+), parental support (+), and time outdoors (+). Determinants of total PA were sex (+) and time spent playing with parents (+). The only correlate of moderate to vigorous PA was sex (male, ++). No determinants of moderate to vigorous or light PA were found. PA correlates/determinants were relatively consistent between objective and subjective PA measures. Conclusions:Numerous studies investigated potential correlates and determinants of PA, but overall quality was low. A small number of demographic/biological and social/cultural factors were associated with PA. There is a need for high-quality studies exploring correlates/determinants across all domains of the ecological model. ContextPhysical activity (PA) is a key influence upon health across the life course. [1][2][3][4] The "early years" is an umbrella term for an age range that encompasses infants (0-2 years), toddlers (2-4 years), and preschoolers (4-6 years). 5 During this period, PA is reported to be associated with multiple health outcomes. 5 Evidence suggests PA levels track from early to later childhood, 6 and into adulthood, 7 so establishing optimal levels of this health-related behavior early in life is crucial. 8,9 Whether children during the early years are sufficiently active is unclear. Some studies have reported that children largely fail to meet current PA guidelines, 10 and spend most of their time inactive, 11,12 whereas others have reported sufficient activity levels in this age group. 13,14 Given the link between PA and health, it is important to understand correlates and determinants of PA to enable the development and implementation of effective interventions, 15 particularly as previous interventions have had limited efficacy. 16 In this review, the term "correlate" is used when an independent variable is found to be associated with PA in cross-sectional studies and thus causality cannot be determined. The term "determinant" is used when...

Correlates of preschool children’s objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior: a cross-sectional analysis of the SPLASHY study

“…Hence, reviews concluded that there was insufficient evidence to draw conclusions regarding correlates of SB in young children [17, 50]. On the other hand, consistent correlates of preschool children’s PA identified in reviews exist [14–16]. These include gender (male preschoolers are more active than female preschoolers), parental PA (parent’s PA is positively associated with their child’s PA), parents’ participation in children’s PA (children of parents who actively engage in PA with their children are more active than children of parents who do not participate), time outdoors (outdoor play time is positively associated with PA) and gross motor skills (MVPA is positively associated with gross motor skills).…”

“…While in late childhood and adolescence the decline in PA with age is a common finding, this trend is less evident in younger children [23]. Several reviews have reported no age effect in the preschool population [14, 16, 51]. In this study, we found that older preschool-aged children were more physically active than younger ones; both TPA and MVPA were positively associated with age and increased by an average of 10% and 16%, respectively, per year (see Fig.…”

“…These may include demographic and biological characteristics, psychological, cognitive and emotional traits, behavioral characteristics, social and cultural variables and environmental factors. However, most studies on correlates in young children have primarily investigated a narrow range of influences and various potentially important correlates, such as the presence of siblings, single parent household status, the child’s self-regulation capacity, temperament and cognitive functioning, parent’s lifestyle behaviors, home play space and equipment, owning a dogs and neighborhood safety, remain under-researched [14]. Only a few consistent correlates of PA have been reported; these include gender, parents’ participation in child PA, parental PA, time spent outdoors and gross motor skills [14–16].…”

“…For SB, there is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about correlates [17]. A recent systematic review of correlates and determinants in the early years concludes that gaps in the research need to be addressed by exploring potential correlates across the whole spectrum of the ecologic model within one study [14]. …”

Associations between the physical activity levels of fathers and their children at 20 months, 3.5 and five years of age

“…A subsequent review by Bingham and colleagues [20], included an additional five studies that investigated paternal influences on children’s physical activity separately to maternal influences. Taylor and colleagues, in their longitudinal study of 244 pre-school children and their parents, reported that parental activity (mothers and fathers) was weakly positively correlated with the activity of their three and four-year-old children.…”