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Sleep, structured and social time use and young Australian children's physical activity
Author(s) -
Yu MongLin,
Ziviani Jenny M.,
Haynes Michele
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
health promotion journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 2201-1617
pISSN - 1036-1073
DOI - 10.1071/he11203
Subject(s) - physical activity , psychological intervention , sleep (system call) , health promotion , screen time , gerontology , psychology , medicine , young adult , developmental psychology , public health , physical therapy , psychiatry , nursing , computer science , operating system
Issue addressed Physical inactivity is a growing health concern for children, with the potential to undermine their health and wellbeing. While a range of factors have been associated with physical inactivity, the contribution of time spent in sleep, structured activities and children's social contexts has received limited attention. Methods This cross‐sectional study employed data from Wave 1 of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children to examine the association between participation in physical activity and time spent in sleep, structured activity, and social contexts of 4–5 year old children. Results Young children who were more physically active were found to participate less in structured activities on weekdays (=‐0.25, SE=0.05); spend more time with peers under adult supervision on weekends (=0.36, SE=0.15); and have parents who themselves reported enjoying physical activity (=‐0.18, SE=0.06). Boys (=‐0.13, SE=0.05) and young children who spoke only English at home (=‐0.37, SE=0.11) were also found to be more physically active. Overall, young children participated in more physical activity on weekend days than weekdays (=0.57, SE=0.04). Conclusions Young children who are highly scheduled in structured activities on weekdays and those with limited adult involvement, especially on weekends, tend to be less physically active. Interventions that promote physical activity in young children therefore need to be family focused and encourage the engagement of parents. So what? Opportunities for young children to engage in more free play in family contexts may be more beneficial for enhancing physical activity than structured activities at this age. Family‐centred strategies that embed physical activity into children's daily routines are reinforced by findings from this study.