Physical activity and sedentary behavior during the early years in Canada: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 2013-05, Vol.10 (1), p.54-54
• Main Authors: Colley, Rachel C, Garriguet, Didier, Adamo, Kristi B, Carson, Valerie, Janssen, Ian, Timmons, Brian W, Tremblay, Mark S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actigraphy; Actigraphy - methods; Age; Age Factors; Behavior; Canada; Canadians; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; childhood; Cross-Sectional Studies; Exercise; Female; guidelines; Guidelines as Topic; Health Behavior; Health promotion; Humans; Male; Meetings; methods; Parents; Pediatrics; physical activity; Physical education; Physical fitness; preschool children; questionnaires; screening; Sedentary Behavior; Studies; surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1479-5868; 1479-5868
• DOI: 10.1186/1479-5868-10-54

Physical activity and sedentary behavior habits are established during early childhood, yet only recently has objectively measured data been available on children aged 5 years and younger. This study presents data on the physical activity and sedentary behaviors of Canadian children aged 3-5 years. Data were collected as part of the Canadian Health Measures Survey between 2009 and 2011. A nationally-representative sample (n = 459) of children aged 3-5 years wore Actical accelerometers during their waking hours for 7 consecutive days. Data were collected in 60-sec epochs and respondents with ≥4 valid days were retained for analysis. Parents reported their child's physical activity and screen time habits in a questionnaire. Eighty-four percent of 3-4 year old children met the physical activity guideline of 180 minutes of total physical activity every day while 18% met the screen time target of