Objective: Healthy lifestyles such as being physically active and eating a healthy diet help reduce the childhood obesity risk. However, population-level studies on the relationship between lifestyles and childhood obesity typically focus on either physical activity or diet but seldom both. This study examined physical activity and diet quality in ...
Background: Gardens are a promising intervention to promote physical activity (PA) and foster health. However, because of the unique characteristics of gardening, no extant tool can capture PA, postures, and motions that take place in a garden. Methods: The Physical Activity Research and Assessment tool for Garden Observation (PARAGON) was ...
Background: There is little current understanding of the influences on sedentary behavior and screen time in preschool children. This study investigated socioeconomic position (SEP) and parental rules as potential correlates of preschool children’s sedentary behavior and screen time. Methods: Data from the Healthy Active Preschool Years (HAPPY) Study were ...
Background: Afterschool programs are an important setting in which to promote children's physical activity. This study examines the association of environmental and policy characteristics on the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary behavior of children attending afterschool programs. Methods: A total of 1302 children attending 20 afterschool programs across South Carolina wore accelerometers (...
Objective: A quasi-experimental cluster-controlled design was used to test the impact of comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) professional development on changes in school physical activity (PA) offerings, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behaviors of 9–14 year-old children during school. Methods: Two groups of Louisiana elementary and middle school physical ...
Purpose: Physical activity is associated with several health benefits in children, and physical activity habits developed in childhood tend to persist into adulthood. Physical activity may be the foundation of a healthy lifestyle and motor performance has been shown to be positively associated with physical activity in cross-sectional studies. The ...
Background: Demographic, family, and home characteristics play an important role in determining childhood sedentary behaviour. The objective of this paper was to identify correlates of total sedentary time (SED) and correlates of self-reported screen time (ST) in Canadian children. Methods: Child- and parent-reported household, socio-demographic, behavioural, and diet related data ...
Background: Weather conditions, along with day length, are proposed as the main drivers of the seasonal patterns in children’s physical activity (PA), but little is known about how they affect children at different ages. This study examines the relationship between rainfall and PA in a longitudinal cohort of initially 9–10 ...
Background: Staff in settings that care for children struggle to implement standards designed to promote moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), suggesting a need for effective strategies to maximize the amount of time children spend in MVPA during scheduled PA opportunities. The purpose of this study was to compare the MVPA children ...
Background: Population-specific accelerometer cut-points are required to accurately determine the accumulation of physical activity of various intensities. Objectives: A calibration study was conducted (i) to determine the cut-points for the ActiGraph GT3X+, non-dominant, wrist-mounted accelerometer in children aged 8–12 years and (ii) to compare classification accuracies among the accelerometer's three ...