Correlates of home and neighbourhood-based physical activity in UK 3-4-year-old children

Parent-Child Associations in Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour: The FAMIPASS Study

Parent-child patterns in objectively measured movement behaviours were the highlight of this study. A total of 381 families (337 mothers, 256 fathers, 190 daughters, and 191 sons) from 36 randomly selected schools and kindergartens provided valid accelerometer data. Sedentary behaviour and physical activity (PA) were assessed using ActiGraph accelerometers. Spearman's rho was used to evaluate parent-child associations, while logistic regression analysis (the backward LR method) was used to recognize factors related to children's achievement of PA recommendations. Results indicated that girls engaged more in light PA, while boys showed higher levels of moderate and vigorous PA. Mothers spent less time sitting and more time in light PA compared to fathers, resulting in higher total PA levels. Father-son pairs showed a stronger association in total PA than mother-son pairs. Children aged 6-10 years and those with mothers who engaged in more vigorous PA were more likely to meet PA recommendations compared to younger children and those with less active mothers.

Clusters of Activity-Related Social and Physical Home Environmental Factors and Their Association With Children's Home-Based Physical Activity and Sitting

PURPOSE

Understanding which physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior correlates cluster in children is important, particularly in the home, where children spend significant time. Therefore, this study aimed to assess clustering of physical and social activity-related factors at home, and whether these clusters are related to home-based sitting and PA in children. A secondary aim was to explore whether the clusters were associated with child, parent, and family characteristics.

METHODS

Altogether, 235 children (55% girls, mean age = 10.2 [0.7] y) and their parents took part. Physical (eg, PA and electronic media equipment, house and garden size, layout) and social (eg, activity preferences, priorities, parental rules) home environmental factors were obtained via the HomeSPACE-II audit and self-report, respectively. Principal component analysis was used to identify clusters of physical and social environmental factors. Backward regression analysis and partial correlations were used to examine relationships between clusters, children's device-measured home-based activity behaviors, and background characteristics.

RESULTS

The findings show that physical and social environment activity-related factors at home cluster. The clusters were associated with several background characteristics, with socioeconomic factors appearing to be particularly influential. The clusters were also associated with home-based activity behaviors in the hypothesized directions.

CONCLUSION

Interventions which target clusters of social and physical factors at home, especially among low-socioeconomic status families, are warranted.

Homes became the "everything space" during COVID-19: impact of changes to the home environment on children's physical activity and sitting

BACKGROUND

During the 2020 UK COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, children spent almost all of their time at home, which had a significant influence on their physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour. This study aimed to: 1) determine changes to the social and physical environment at home and children's home-based sitting, PA, standing and sitting breaks as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions; and 2) examine associations between changes at home and children's movement behaviours.

METHODS

One hundred and two children had their PA and sitting, standing and sitting breaks at home objectively measured pre-COVID-19 and during the first COVID-19 lockdown (June-July 2020). Children's parents (n = 101) completed an audit of their home physical environment and a survey on the home social environment at both time points. Changes in the home physical and social environment and behavioural outcomes were assessed using Wilcoxon signed ranked tests, paired t-tests, or chi-square. Repeated linear regression analyses examined associations between changes in homes and changes in the home-based behavioural outcomes.

RESULTS

During COVID-19, households increased the amount of seated furniture and electronic media equipment at home. The number of books and PA equipment decreased and fewer parents enforced a screen-time rule. Children's preference for physical activities and socialising at home decreased. Time at home and sitting at home increased during COVID-19, whilst PA, standing and sitting breaks decreased. Both MVPA and TPA were positively associated with child preference for PA, and negatively associated with attending school. Sitting was negatively associated with child preference for PA and child preference for socialising at home. Media equipment was negatively associated with sitting breaks, whilst PA equipment was positively associated with standing.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 restrictions forced children to spend almost all their time at home. Children's PA, standing, and sitting breaks at home declined during the restrictions, while sitting increased. Mostly negative changes occurred in homes, some of which impacted children's behaviours at home. To avoid the changes persisting post-lockdown, interventions are needed to reset and promote children's PA and discourage prolonged sitting time.

Effects of Kindergarten, Family Environment, and Physical Activity on Children's Physical Fitness

To explore the relationship between kindergarten environmental factors, children's physical activity, and physical fitness, this study uses the stratified random sampling method to obtain 4,600 children in relevant kindergartens. The questionnaire survey and children's physical fitness test were completed with the help of parents and kindergarten staff. The exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analysis is used to process the obtained database and set the significance level of all indicators α = 0.05. The results show that kindergarten environmental factors significantly affect children's physical activity and healthy physical fitness. Children with large play areas in these kindergartens, more sports equipment items, who participate in more than three games per week, of no <40 min of each class, with an appropriate number of classes, and excellent teachers' teaching ability have better physical fitness. Family environmental factors significantly affect children's physical activity and fitness. Children with more family sports equipment items, more peers living nearby, safer playing places, more hands and feet, and parents who are good at sports have better performance in health fitness. Children's physical activity not only directly affects their performance of physical fitness, but also plays a dual intermediary role between kindergarten environment and physical fitness, family environment, and healthy physical fitness.

Are individual and social factors specific to the home associated with children's behaviour and physical environment at home

This study used linear regression analyses to investigate the influence of parent-reported home-specific social and individual factors on: (i) 235 children's home-based objectively measured overall sitting time, breaks in sitting, and PA, and; (ii) the home physical environment via an audit. Parental importance assigned to active play for children was positively associated with PA equipment (accessibility and availability), as well as light physical activity (LPA) and sitting breaks on both weekdays and weekend days. Parental preference for being active at home and limits on screen-time were associated with less household media equipment and portable media equipment, respectively. Greater parental importance placed on playing electronic games/using computers for fun was associated with less LPA and more sitting on weekdays. Further, children who preferred being sedentary sat more and engaged in less moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on weekdays. Parental and child preferences and priorities, as well as parental rules for activity at home, were associated with children's home-based sitting and PA, especially on weekdays. Such factors were also associated with the physical environment in the expected directions. The findings suggest interventions need to target social and individual factors, alongside adapting the physical environment to create homes more promotive of physical activity.

Antenatal Determinants of Childhood Obesity in High-Risk Offspring: Protocol for the DiGest Follow-Up Study

Childhood obesity is an area of intense concern internationally and is influenced by events during antenatal and postnatal life. Although pregnancy complications, such as gestational diabetes and large-for-gestational-age birthweight have been associated with increased obesity risk in offspring, very few successful interventions in pregnancy have been identified. We describe a study protocol to identify if a reduced calorie diet in pregnancy can reduce adiposity in children to 3 years of age. The dietary intervention in gestational diabetes (DiGest) study is a randomised, controlled trial of a reduced calorie diet provided by a whole-diet replacement in pregnant women with gestational diabetes. Women receive a weekly dietbox intervention from enrolment until delivery and are blinded to calorie allocation. This follow-up study will assess associations between a reduced calorie diet in pregnancy with offspring adiposity and maternal weight and glycaemia. Anthropometry will be performed in infants and mothers at 3 months, 1, 2 and 3 years post-birth. Glycaemia will be assessed using bloodspot C-peptide in infants and continuous glucose monitoring with HbA1c in mothers. Data regarding maternal glycaemia in pregnancy, maternal nutrition, infant birthweight, offspring feeding behaviour and milk composition will also be collected. The DiGest follow-up study is expected to take 5 years, with recruitment finishing in 2026.

Screen Time and Sleep of Rural and Urban South African Preschool Children

This study aimed to investigate the extent to which preschool children meet guidelines for screen time (<1 h/day) and sleep (10-13 h/24-h) and explored home factors that affect these behaviors. Parents of preschoolers across income settings in South Africa (urban high-income n = 27, urban low-income n = 96 and rural low-income n = 142) completed a questionnaire. Urban high-income children had higher rates of exceeding screen time guidelines (67.0%) than children from urban low-income (26.0%) and rural low-income (3.5%) settings. Most children (81.0%) met sleep guidelines on weekdays and on weekends (75.0%). More urban high-income children met the sleep guideline, in comparison to both low-income settings. Fewer urban high-income parents (50.0%) thought that screen time would not affect their preschooler's health, compared to urban low-income (90.4%) and rural low-income (81.7%) parents. Weeknight bedtime was positively correlated with both weekday screen time (p = 0.001) and weekday TV time (p = 0.005), indicating that more time on screens correlated with later bedtimes. Meeting screen time and sleep guidelines differs across income settings, but it is evident that parents of preschoolers across all income settings would benefit from greater awareness about guidelines.

Association between parent and child physical activity: a systematic review

Background

Childhood represents an important life stage for establishment of physical activity (PA) habits. Parents are assumed to play an important role in influencing children’s PA. Earlier reviews have mainly focused on parental modelling, encouragement, and support for PA, rather than the actual PA levels of parents. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to systematically summarize the evidence on the relationship between parent and child PA.

Methods

Papers were identified using electronic databases and manual searches of reference lists. Papers reporting on associations between objectively measured child PA and at least one measure of parental PA were included. The quality of the papers was assessed using a modified version of the ROBINS-I tool. For interpretation of the results across studies, we produced albatross plots for all studies combined and by age-groups, sex of the parents, sex of the child, methodology of assessment of parental PA, and type of PA.

Results

Thirty-nine papers were included with sample size of parent-child dyads ranging from 15 to 1267 (mean = 319 dyads, median = 227 dyads). The majority of studies were published from 2008 to 2018 and used accelerometry to assess PA. Most of the studies were classified as having moderate, serious, or critical risk of bias. The albatross plot for all studies combined showed that the clear majority of studies observed a positive relationship between parent and child PA. The plot suggested an average magnitude of correlation across studies to be around 0.13, and the overall impression was that this was fairly similar across child age-groups and gender of parent-child dyads. Studies using objective assessment of parental PA showed stronger relationship between parent and child PA compared with studies using self-report (average magnitude of correlation around 0.16 vs 0.04 respectively). No clear evidence was found for the strength of relationship being dependent on type of PA measure of parent and child (total PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA, steps), however, the relationship for light PA appeared weaker.

Conclusion

This systematic review showed that the clear majority of studies observed a weak positive relationship between parent and child PA regardless of age of the child, the gender of the parent-child dyad, and type of PA.

Trial registration

Registration in PROSPERO: CRD42019093462.

Correlates of sedentary time in young children: A systematic review

Background: Young children appear to spend large portions of their waking time being sedentary. Understanding the correlates of sedentary time would assist in developing effective interventions among young children. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize the current literature on the correlates of objectively measured sedentary time in young children aged 1-5.99y. Methods: This review was registered with PROSPERO (registration no. CRD42017081374) and aligned with the PRISMA Statement for systematic reviews. Five electronic databases (MEDline, CINAHL Complete, PsycINFO, SportDiscus, Scopus) were searched up to October 26, 2017 for studies investigating correlates of sedentary time measured using objective devices. A semiquantitative approach was used to synthesize data. Results: Forty-five studies were retrieved comprising 13,430 participants, and 84 correlates of sedentary time in young children were evaluated. The associations between sex, sleep habits, daily patterns (childcare vs. non-childcare hours), childcare type and sedentary time were indeterminate. Thirty-nine correlates were consistently unrelated. Forty-one potential correlates were examined in too few studies (<4) to make confident conclusions. Parental sedentary behaviour was reported 3 times and maternal sedentary behaviour was reported once. Out of these four studies, three were positively associated with child sedentary time. Conclusions: Despite reviewing 45 studies that evaluated associations for 84 correlates, this review was unable to identify any consistent correlates of sedentary time in young children. Additional research is needed in this area to provide robust evidence of the correlates of sedentary time in young children, particularly for those examined in only a small number of studies.

Individual-, home- and preschool-level correlates of preschool children's sedentary time

BACKGROUND

Prechoolers' significant portions of sedentary time (ST) is a public-health concern due to its high prevalence and negative health consequences. However, few studies have explored correlates of preschoolers' ST covering individual-, home- and preschool- factors within one study. The aim of this study was to identify the associations between multiple individual-, home- and preschool-level factors and preschoolers' ST. In addition, it was studied how much individual-, home- and preschool-level factors explained the variance in children's ST.

METHODS

A total of 864 children aged three to six, their parents and 66 preschools participated in the cross-sectional DAGIS study, which occurred between 2015 and 2016. The children wore an accelerometer for 1 week. Guardians, principals and early educators completed questionnaires covering the potential correlates of children's ST, for example, temperament, practices, self-efficacy and regulations. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted in multiple steps; calculation of marginal and conditional R² values occurred in the final phase.

RESULTS

Of the 29 studied correlates, the following factors remained significant in the final models. Being a boy (p < 0.001) and having high levels of surgency temperament (p < 0.001) were associated with lower ST. Regarding the home setting, frequent co-visits in physical activity (PA) places (p = 0.014) were associated with lower ST. Higher parental perceived barriers related to children's outside PA (p = 0.032) was associated with higher ST. None of the preschool setting factors remained significant in the final model. Approximately 11% of the variance in children's ST was attributed to factors related to the individual level whereas 5% was attributed to home-level factors; and 2% to preschool-level factors.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified a set of correlates of preschool children's ST. Interventions aimed at reducing children's ST should develop strategies targeting established correlates of preschoolers' ST covering individual-, home- and preschool-level factors. The preschool-level factors included in this study explained little the variance in children's ST. However, the included measures may not have captured the essential preschool-level factors that specifically influence children's ST. Therefore, more studies are needed regarding potential preschool-level factors.

Health-Related Behaviors Among School-Aged Children and Adolescents During the Spanish Covid-19 Confinement

In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) world pandemic, affected countries such as Spain enacted measures comprising compulsory confinement as well as restrictions regarding free movement. Such measures likely influence children's and adolescents' lifestyles. Our study aimed to investigate the impact that the Covid-19 confinement has on health-related behaviors (HRBs) among Spanish children and adolescents. An online survey was administered to 516 parents to collect data about 860 children and adolescents (49.2% girls) aged between 3 and 16 years in relation to physical activity, screen exposure, sleep time, and fruit and vegetable consumption during the Covid-19 confinement. Respectively, t-paired test and t-test between groups served to check differences between HRBs levels before and during the confinement as well as between strict and relaxed confinement. Significant differences were found for a reduction of weekly minutes of physical activity during the confinement (-102.5, SD 159.6) (p < 0.001), an increase of daily hours of screen exposure (2.9, SD 2.1) (p < 0.001), and a reduction of daily fruit and vegetable consumption (-0.2, SD 1.6) (p < 0.001). Sleep time showed a significant difference between strict and relaxed confinement (-0.3, SD 0.1) (p < 0.05), whereas binomial logistic regression adjusted for covariates (age, sex, education of the parents, siblings, current condition, exposure to Covid-19, and previous health risk behavior) showed significantly lower odds for screen exposure risk behavior with relaxed confinement (OR 0.60, 95%CI 0.40-0.91). The present study suggests that Covid-19 confinement reduced physical activity levels, increased both screen exposure and sleep time, and reduced fruit and vegetable consumption. Therefore, most HRBs worsened among this sample of Spanish children and adolescents. Closure of schools, online education, and the lack of policies addressing the conciliation between labor and family life could have played an important role in HRBs worsening among pupils, which might be mitigated with adequate conciliation policies, parental guidance, and community support.

Associations between the Home Physical Environment and Children's Home-Based Physical Activity and Sitting

It is important to understand the correlates of children's physical activity (PA) and sitting at home, where children spend significant time. The home social environment has an important influence; however, much less is known about the home physical environment. Therefore, the study aimed to assess relationships between the physical environment and children's sitting and PA at home. In total, 235 child-parent dyads were included in the analyses. Children spent 67% of their time at home sitting. Linear regression analyses examined associations between physical home environmental factors obtained via an audit and children's (55% girl, 10.2 ± 0.7) objective PA and sitting at home. Following adjustment for socio-demographics and social environmental factors, an open plan living area (OPLA), musical instrument accessibility and availability, and perceived house size were negatively and positively associated, whereas media equipment accessibility and availability was positively and negatively associated with sitting and standing, respectively. Additionally, an OPLA was positively associated with total and moderate-to-vigorous PA. Furthermore, sitting breaks were positively associated with objective garden size and negatively associated with digital TV. The physical home environment may have an important influence on children's sitting, standing and PA at home; therefore, interventions that target this environment are needed.

Not All Play Equipment Is Created Equal: Associations Between Equipment at Home and Children's Physical Activity

BACKGROUND

Play equipment at home could be targeted in interventions to increase children's physical activity (PA), but evidence is mixed, potentially because current methods do not reflect children's lived experience. This study investigated associations between combinations of equipment and PA.

METHODS

Data were from the Mothers and their Children's Health study and the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Mothers (n = 2409) indicated the types of fixed active (eg, trampolines), portable active (eg, bicycles), and electronic (eg, computers) equipment at home, and the number of days children (n = 4092, aged 5-12 y, 51% boys) met PA guidelines. Latent class analysis was used to identify combinations of equipment, and linear regressions were used to investigate associations with PA.

RESULTS

Compared with children with high active (fixed and portable) and medium electronic equipment, children with portable active and medium (B = -0.53; 95% confidence interval, -0.72 to -0.34) or high (B = -0.58; 95% confidence interval, -0.83 to -0.33) electronic equipment met the guidelines on fewer days. Children with similar active equipment (but more electronic equipment) met the PA guidelines on fewer days (mean difference = -0.51, SE = 0.14, P = .002).

CONCLUSION

Having the right combination of play equipment at home may be important for children's PA.

International Comparison of the Levels and Potential Correlates of Objectively Measured Sedentary Time and Physical Activity among Three-to-Four-Year-Old Children

Physical activity (PA) patterns track from childhood through to adulthood. The study aimed to determine the levels and correlates of sedentary time (ST), total PA (TPA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) in preschool-aged children. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of 1052 children aged three-to-four-years-old from six studies included in the International Children’s Accelerometry Database. Multilevel linear regression models adjusting for age, gender, season, minutes of wear time, and study clustering effects were used to estimate associations between age, gender, country, season, ethnicity, parental education, day of the week, time of sunrise, time of sunset, and hours of daylight and the daily minutes spent in ST, TPA, and MVPA. Across the UK, Switzerland, Belgium, and the USA, children in our analysis sample spent 490 min in ST per day and 30.0% and 21.2% of children did not engage in recommended daily TPA (≥180 min) and MVPA (≥60 min) guidelines. There was evidence for an association between all 10 potential correlates analyzed and at least one of the outcome variables; average daily minutes spent in ST, TPA and/or MVPA. These correlates can inform the design of public health interventions internationally to decrease ST and increase PA in preschoolers.

A Structural Equation Modelling Approach to Understanding Influences of Maternal and Family Characteristics on Feeding Practices in Young Children

BACKGROUND

The family environment is influential for a child's healthy development through parent and sibling influences on feeding practices. Multiple-child households may protect against unhealthy feeding practices, but additional children contribute to higher maternal stress. Households of married parents may decrease maternal stress by sharing parental demands.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to evaluate the collective influence of maternal stress, marital status, and number of children on feeding practices.

METHODS

Mothers of 2- to 5-y-old children (n = 278) were recruited mainly on a university campus and completed an online survey to examine associations between maternal stress (Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale), number of children, marital status, and feeding practices (restriction and pressure to eat; Child Feeding Questionnaire). Relationships were examined through the use of multivariate regression and structural equation modelling.

RESULTS

A mainly married (85%) and Caucasian (73%) sample participated, with most mothers reporting multiple children [2 children (45%) or ≥3 children (24%)]. Marital status was not associated with either feeding practice, i.e., restriction and pressure to eat (P < 0.05). In adjusted models, maternal stress (β = 0.04, SE = 0.01, P = 0.003) and number of children (β = 0.24, SE = 0.08, P = 0.003) in the household individually contributed to higher feeding restriction; their interaction resulted in lower feeding restriction (β = -0.01, SE = 0.05, P = 0.005). In stratified models, maternal stress was associated with restriction in single-child households (β = -0.03, SE = 0.009, P = 0.002), but not multiple-child households (β = -0.004, SE = 0.005, P = 0.40).

CONCLUSIONS

Number of children had no effect on feeding practices individually, but may contribute to a less restrictive feeding environment. Additional investigation into creating less stressful and more positive feeding environments for all mothers can lead to healthier mothers and families.

Sibling influence on children's objectively measured physical activity: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Abstract

Children without siblings (only children) have higher rates of obesity than children with siblings. Childhood obesity may be prevented by minimising sedentary behaviour and accumulating sufficient physical activity in young children. A growing number of articles have examined the influence of siblings on physical activity and sedentary behaviour, yet these articles have not been synthesised.

Objective

To synthesise literature and describe the influence of siblings on objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour of children (ages 2–18 years).

Design

Outcomes were analysed in a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data sources

PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Medline OVID were searched for articles related to siblings, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and obesity outcomes from 1947 to March 2018.

Eligibility criteria

Articles that evaluated sibling status on physical activity objectively measured by accelerometer or pedometer were included.

Results

Nineteen articles, representing 17 independent datasets, were included in the review. Nine were included in the quantitative analysis. Pooled data from nine articles indicated children with siblings had higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) relative to only children, with a potential dose response for higher number of children in household and higher MVPA (Mean Difference=3.13, 95% CI 1.90 to 4.35, p=0.001). Findings were mixed for the influence of siblings on sedentary behaviour and light physical activity.

Summary/Conclusion

Children with siblings had healthier physical activity patterns, as measured by accelerometer or pedometer, than did only children. Suggested mechanisms include peer modelling, encouraging active transport and sports participation, opportunity for playmate and serving as additional caregivers.

Trial registration number

CRD42017055463.

A systematic review of methods to measure family co-participation in physical activity

The family environment is key in influencing children's health behaviours. Encouraging family co-participation in physical activity may therefore be an effective approach to increasing children's physical activity levels. Yet, little is known about how to best assess family co-participation in physical activity. This review summarizes methods to measure family co-participation in physical activity, which was defined as joint physical activities including at least one healthy child (0-18 years) and one other family member. Methods were identified through a systematic literature search, cross-referencing pre-selected reviews and contacting research groups. Thirty-seven measurement methods were included. Questionnaires were the most common method used, with the majority assessing frequency of co-participation and few also assessing duration and type. Reliability and internal consistency of scales were often reported, but rarely specified for the item(s) relevant to co-participation. Other methods of measuring co-participation included diaries, event history calendars, direct observations and accelerometry combined with diary, ecological momentary assessment or global positioning systems (GPS). Whilst a large number of measurement methods of family co-participation in physical activity exist, few are comprehensive and/or report acceptable psychometric properties. Future work should focus on reaching consensus in defining family co-participation in physical activity, and subsequently developing reliable and valid measures.

Descriptive analysis of preschool physical activity and sedentary behaviors - a cross sectional study of 3-year-olds nested in the SKOT cohort

Background

Further collection of surveillance data is warranted, particularly in preschool populations, for optimizing future public health promotion strategies. This study aims to describe physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) across different settings, including time in and out of daycare, and to determine the proportion of children complying with suggested PA recommendations in a high income country.

Methods

Valid PA was assessed in 231 children (36.4 ± 1.1 months) with the Actigraph GT3X accelerometer, and information regarding date and time of dropping-off/picking-up children in daycare was provided by parents. Mean total PA (i.e., counts per minute (CPM)), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), SB time, and non-SB time was generated and compared across settings. Post hoc, PA and SB were examined in subgroups of low-active (1st quartile) and high-active (4th quartile) children.

Results

Overall, boys and girls spent 1.4 ± 0.3 h/day and 1.2 ± 0.4 h/day in MVPA, respectively. Likewise, boys and girls accumulated 6.7 ± 0.8 h and 6.8 ± 0.9 h of SB time per day, respectively. Higher PA levels consistently co-occurred with lower SB time in the daycare setting. Girls accumulated less SB time in daycare than before and after daycare (β = −12.2%, p < 0.001 & β = −3.8%, p < 0.001, respectively). In boys, daycare-days contained more PA and less SB than non-daycare-days (CPM: β =29, p = 0.046, %MVPA: β = 0.83, p = 0.007, %SB: β = −2.3, p < 0.001, respectively). All children fulfilled recommendations of at least 3 h of daily non-SB. Eighty-nine percent of boys and 72% of girls met the daily 1-h MVPA recommendation for 5 year-olds. Lower proportions of children, especially boys, fulfilled MVPA recommendation on days with no daycare attendance. Generally, large mean differences in MVPA and SB were observed across all settings between the most active and the least active children, and only 7% of the low-active girls and 59% of the low-active boys fulfilled MVPA recommendations.

Conclusions

Overall, the majority of children fulfilled MVPA guidelines for 5 year-olds, and all children complied with suggested recommendations of 180 min of daily activity. Daycare time was found to represent an important setting for PA. Substantial and consistent differences observed in the amount of time spent physically active between high- and low-active children across all settings indicate substantial variations in young children’s PA levels irrespective of the context.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4521-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.