Objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time: cross-sectional and prospective associations with adiposity in the Millennium Cohort Study Association between childcare educators’ practices and preschoolers’ physical activity and dietary intake: a cross-sectional analysis Adiposity and TV viewing are related to less bone accrual in young children. Cross-sectional and prospective associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity and sedentary time with adiposity in children Effects of modifying physical activity and sedentary behavior on psychosocial adjustment in overweight/obese children. Relationship between physical activity and the development of body mass index in children. Objectively measured physical activity level and sedentary behavior in Norwegian children during a week in preschool☆ Effects of Child Care Intervention on Physical Activity and Body Composition.
Objective To examine whether physical activity ( PA ) and sedentary time ( ST ) in primary school-aged children are associated with adiposity at the start of secondary school , and whether these associations differ by sex or ethnic group . Design Nationally representative prospect i ve cohort study . Setting Children born across the UK , between 2000 and 2002 . Participants 6497 singleton children . Outcome measures Measures of adiposity ( body mass index ( BMI ) , fat mass index ( FMI ) and fat free mass index (FFMI))—obtained at 7 and 11 years . Explanatory measures  Total daily PA ( mean counts per minute ( cpm ) ) ; minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA ( MVPA ) ; and ST .  All assessed at 7 years using accelerometers . Results In cross-sectional analyses , total PA was inversely associated with FMI ( 3.7 % ( 95 % CI 2.7 % to 4.7 % ) reduction per 150 cpm increase ) , as was MVPA ( 4.2 % ( CI 3.2 % to 5.2 % ) reduction per 20 min/day increase ) . Associations were stronger in black and South Asian ethnic groups . Total PA and MVPA were not associated with FFMI . ST was positively associated with FMI ( 1.3 % ( CI 0.2 % to 2.3 % ) increase per 50 min/day increase ) and inversely associated with FFMI ( 0.5 % ( CI 0.2 % to 0.7 % ) reduction per 50 min/day increase ) . Longitudinally , MVPA at age 7 years remained inversely associated with FMI at age 11 years ( 1.5 % ( CI 0.4 % to 2.6 % ) reduction per 20 min/day increase ) . No association was found between total PA and ST and any of the later adiposity measures . Conclusions 7-year-old children who are more physically active are less likely to be obese at that age and at age 11 years . These associations were particularly evident in children from black or South Asian ethnicity at age 7 years and in boys at age 11 years . Measurements of fat mass provide valuable insights into ethnic differences in associations between adiposity and activity Introduction Childcare educators may be role models for healthy eating and physical activity ( PA ) behaviours among young children . This study aim ed to identify which childcare educators ’ practice s are associated with preschoolers ’ dietary intake and PA levels . Methods This cross-sectional analysis included 723 preschoolers from 50 r and omly selected childcare centres in two Canadian provinces . All data were collected in the fall of 2013 and 2014 and analysed in the fall of 2015 .  PA was assessed using Actical accelerometers during childcare hours for 5 consecutive days .  Children ’s dietary intake  was measured at lunch on 2 consecutive days using weighed plate waste and digital photography . Childcare educators ’ nutrition practice s ( modelling , nutrition education , satiety recognition , verbal encouragement and not using food as rewards ) and PA practice s ( informal and formal PA promotion ) were assessed by direct observation over the course of 2 days , using the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self- Assessment for Child Care tool . Associations between educators ’ practice s and preschoolers ’ PA and dietary intake were examined using multilevel linear regressions . Results Overall , modelling of healthy eating was positively associated with children ’s intake of sugar ( β=0.141 , 95 % CI 0.03 to 0.27 ) , while calorie ( β=−0.456 , 95 % CI −1.46 to –0.02 ) and fibre intake ( β=−0.066 , 95 % CI −0.12 to –0.01 ) were negatively associated with providing nutrition education . Not using food as rewards was also negatively associated with fat intake ( β=−0.144 , 95 % CI −0.52 to –0.002 ) . None of the educators ’ PA practice s were associated with children ’s participation in PA  . Conclusions Modelling healthy eating , providing nutrition education and not using food as rewards are associated with children ’s dietary intake at lunch in childcare centres , highlighting the role that educators play in shaping preschoolers ’ eating behaviours . Although PA practice s were not associated with  children ’s PA levels , there is a need to reduce sedentary time in childcare centres OBJECTIVE To examine the relation between baseline fat mass and gain in bone area and bone mass in preschoolers studied prospect ively for 4 years , with a focus on the role of physical activity and TV viewing . STUDY DESIGN Children were part of a longitudinal study in which measures of fat , lean and bone mass , height , weight , activity , and diet were taken every 4 months from ages 3 to 7 years . Activity was measured by accelerometer and TV viewing by parent checklist . We included 214 children with total body dual energy x-ray absorptiometry ( Hologic 4500A ) scans at ages 3.5 and 7 years . RESULTS Higher baseline fat mass was associated with smaller increases in bone area and bone mass over the next 3.5 years ( P < .001 ) . More TV viewing was related to smaller gains in bone area and bone mass accounting for race , sex , and height . Activity by accelerometer was not associated with bone gains . CONCLUSIONS Adiposity and TV viewing are related to less bone accrual in preschoolers Background : Physical activity ( PA ) and sedentary time ( SED ) have both been suggested as potential risk factors for adiposity in children . However , there is paucity of data examining the temporal associations between these variables . Objective : This study aim ed to analyze the cross-sectional and prospect i ve associations between PA , SED and body composition in children . Methods : A total of 510 children ( age at baseline 10.1±0.8 , age at follow-up 11.8±0.9 ) from six Portuguese schools from the Oeiras Municipality participated in this study .  PA and SED were measured by accelerometry and trunk fat mass ( TFM ) and body fat mass ( BFM )  were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry .  Fat mass index ( FMI ) was calculated as BFM divided by height squared . Several regression models adjusted for age , sex , maturity status , follow-up duration , baseline levels of the outcome variable and SED or moderate to vigorous PA ( MVPA ) were performed . Results : MVPA ( min per day ) was cross-sectionally inversely associated with adiposity indexes ( FMI , TFM and BFM ) . Adiposity indexes were inversely associated with time in MVPA . In prospect i ve analyses , MVPA was associated with a lower levels of FMI ( β=−0.37 , 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) : −0.49 to −0.26 , P<0.001 ) , TFM ( β=−0.20 , 95 % CI : −0.29 to −0.10 , P<0.001 ) and BFM ( β=−0.37 , 95 % CI : −0.49 to −0.26 , P<0.001 ) . When the model was adjusted for age , sex , maturity status and for baseline levels of the outcome variables MVPA remained a significant predictor of lower adiposity indexes ( FMI : β=−0.09 , 95 % CI : −0.16 to −0.01 , P<0.05 ; TFM : β=−0.08 , 95 % CI : −0.15 to −0.01 , P<0.05 ; BFM : β=−0.07 , 95 % CI : −0.15 to 0.00 , P<0.05 ) . Adiposity was not associated  with MVPA when modeled as the exposure in prospect i ve analyses . SED was not related with adiposity indexes , except for the relationship with FMI . Conclusions : In cross-sectional and prospect i ve analyses , MVPA is associated with lower adiposity independent of covariates and SED . Results suggest that promoting MVPA is important for preventing gain in adiposity in healthy children OBJECTIVES To evaluate the relationship between changes in  physical activity ( PA ) , sedentary behavior , and physical self-perceptions and global self-worth in 30 , 8 - 12 years old , overweight/obese children ( 13 boys , 17 girls ) . METHODS Secondary analyses from a r and omized controlled trial design ed to increase PA and reduce sedentary behavior . PA was measured by accelerometers worn by participants every day for 8 weeks .  Sedentary behavior , defined as minutes per day spent in television viewing , was assessed by self-report . RESULTS Increases in PA were associated with increases in perceived physical conditioning ( r = .54 , p < .01 ) , body satisfaction ( r = .55 , p < .01 ) , and overall physical self-worth ( r = .44 , p < .05 ) independent of changes in body mass index ( BMI ) . Reductions in TV viewing were also related to increased physical and global self-worth . CONCLUSIONS Increases in PA are associated with improvements in physical self-perceptions but not global self-worth , while reductions in TV viewing are associated with increased physical and global self-worth , and these psychosocial benefits appear to be independent of changes in adiposity PURPOSE Studies estimating the contribution of physical activity ( PA ) to the development of body mass index ( BMI ) in critical periods of childhood are warranted . Therefore , we have prospect ively investigated this relationship in boys and girls of the KOALA Birth Cohort study , the Netherl and s , in the period around adiposity rebound ( i.e. , 4 - 9 yr old ) . METHODS PA was  assessed  in 470 children ( 231 boys , 239 girls ) using accelerometers at the ages of 5 and 7 yr , and height and weight were measured at 5 , 7 , and 9 yr .  BMI z-scores were calculated to st and ardize for age and sex . Leaner and heavier children were classified according to the 25th and 75th percentile of our study sample . To examine longitudinal relationships between PA and BMI z-scores , generalized estimating equation analyses were performed and stratified for sex and baseline weight status ( leaner , normal weight , and heavier children ) . RESULTS In heavier children , an increment of 6.5 min of moderate to vigorous PA ( MVPA ) was related to a subsequent decrease of 0.03 BMI z-scores both in boys ( 95 % confidence interval = -0.07 to -0.001 ) and girls ( 95 % confidence interval = -0.05 to -0.002 ) . Light PA was also associated with a decrease of BMI in heavier boys but not girls . In normal weight children , MVPA was associated with decrease of BMI in boys but not girls . CONCLUSION Increments of MVPA were associated with decreases in BMI z-score in heavier children , both boys and girls . Promoting MVPA should remain a major prevention vehicle for improving body composition in 4- to 9-yr-old children Although many studies have reported on  physical activity ( PA ) levels using accelerometers , a thorough description of the PA pattern in preschool children during their stay in the preschool , is lacking in the current literature . Furthermore , there remains a lack of underst and ing of the PA level and pattern in children in the lower end of the PA continuum . The first aim of this study was therefore to describe the PA pattern during a week-long stay in a preschool in all children born in 2011 ( either three or four-year-olds ) attending public preschools in a municipality in Norway . The second aim was to describe the PA level and pattern of the children who are the least physically active . This cross-sectional study included baseline data from 95 % of children ( N = 111 ) participating in a r and omized controlled physical activity intervention ( Active Kindergarten – Active Children study ) . The participants wore an Actigraph accelerometer , in week 39 in 2015 , from when they arrived at the preschool on Monday morning and throughout their stay of five consecutive days . The amount of moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA ( MVPA ) per day ranged from 16 min to 116 min , and sedentary time ranged from 2.7 h to 6.5 h per day in the least and most sedentary child , respectively . The least physically active 25 % of children were less active throughout the entire day , and only a few of them managed to achieve the recommended level of MVPA on any weekday . The physical activity levels and patterns among the least active children described in this study may help to inform interventions targeting this group INTRODUCTION This study evaluated whether intervening with child care providers would increase physical activity ( PA )  and reduce adiposity in preschoolers . METHODS This was a two-arm , parallel group , cluster RCT whereby six child care centers were r and omly assigned in equal numbers to intervention ( n=40 children ) or control ( n=43 children ) . Participants were aged 3 - 5 years and attended licensed child care centers . Child care providers received two 3-hour train-the-trainer workshops and a training manual at program initiation aim ed at increasing structured and unstructured PA through active play . Control child care centers implemented their st and ard curriculum .  PA and sedentary behavior were measured by accelerometry , and body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance at baseline and 6 months . Data were collected in 2011 - 2012 and analyzed in April 2015 . RESULTS Linear mixed-effects modeling showed that at 6 months , children in the intervention group demonstrated greater increases in minutes per preschool day spent in overall PA ( 22.5 minutes , 95 % CI=8.9 , 36.1 , p=0.002 ) , and light-intensity PA ( 16.1 minutes , 95 % CI=5.2 , 26.7 , p=0.004 ) , but changes between groups in moderate to vigorous PA did not differ . The intervention group showed greater reductions in body fat percentage ( -1.9 % , 95 % CI=-3.5 , -0.3 , p=0.023 ) and fat mass ( -0.3 kg , 95 % CI=-0.7 , -0.1 , p=0.018 ) , but groups did not differ on fat-free mass , BMI , or z- BMI . CONCLUSIONS Provider-led intervention in child care centers increased preschoolers '  PA and reduced adiposity , therefore may represent a viable approach to promoting PA and related health benefits in preschool-aged children . TRIAL REGISTRATION This study is registered at www . clinical trials.gov NCT02293278
However , total PA , sedentary behaviour , and different PA intensities were not associated with body mass index ( BMI ) or waist circumference .
Adiposity levels were lower among preschool children engaged in more ( moderate-to- ) vigorous PA compared with their peers , but no associations  between  PA and BMI or waist circumference were found
Evidence on the association between  physical activity ( PA ) and adiposity in young children is inconclusive .
A systematic review and meta-analyses were conducted to examine associations between accelerometer-derived PA and varying adiposity outcomes  in preschool children .