Goldilocks best school-day for children’s physical health and development
Abstract Overview
Background. Sedentary time and physical inactivity increase the risk of unhealthy weight and are negatively associated with children’s motor competence development. Children with healthy weight and motor skill proficiency are more predisposed to adopt physically active lifestyles as they progress into adolescence. Schools are important settings for physical activity participation, but little is known about the optimum combinations of movement behaviours during the school day for physical health and development.
Purpose. To describe the Goldilocks (‘just right’) school day movement behaviour compositions for physical health and development, and to specify the time-use composition that optimised both healthy weight and motor competency as physical health and development outcomes.
Methods. Children from seven northwest England primary-schools (n=177, 55% girls, 78% White British, age=8.60.4-years) completed anthropometric assessments, wore a wrist accelerometer for 24 hoursday-1 over 7-days, and completed the Dragon Challenge motor competence assessment. Accelerometer cut-points were applied to estimate school-day time spent being sedentary (ST) and in light (LPA), moderate (MPA), and vigorous physical activity (VPA). BMI-z scores represented the physical health outcome, and total motor competence scores represented the physical development outcome. Associations between school-day movement behaviour compositions and the two outcomes were analysed separately using compositional regression. The compositional centres of the optimal BMI-z and motor competence compositions were calculated to reflect the optimal Goldilocks school-day composition for physical health and development.
Results. The mean school-day movement behaviours composition (ST=264-min, LPA=95-min, MPA=24.0-min, VPA=7-min) was significantly associated with BMI z-score (p=0.03) and motor competence (p=0.01). Optimal durations of school-day movement behaviour compositions varied for BMI-z score and motor competence. The overall Goldilocks school-day to optimise physical health and development comprised 232-min of ST, 130-min of LPA, 11-min of MPA, and 17-min of VPA.
Conclusions. The optimal composition approach can provide physical health- and development-related movement goals for whole-school physical activity promotion.
Additional Authors
Name: Lauren Clifford
Affiliation: Sport, Physical Activity, Health, and Wellbeing Research Group and Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, UK
Presenting Author: no
Name: Jordan Banks
Affiliation: Sport, Physical Activity, Health, and Wellbeing Research Group and Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, UK
Presenting Author: no
Name: Peter Edwards
Affiliation: Sport, Physical Activity, Health, and Wellbeing Research Group and Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, UK
Presenting Author: no
Name: Ayva-Mae Gilmour
Affiliation: Sport, Physical Activity, Health, and Wellbeing Research Group and Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, UK
Presenting Author: no
Name: Emily Brady-Young
Affiliation: Together an Active Future
Presenting Author: no
Name: Mhairi MacDonald
Affiliation: Sport, Physical Activity, Health, and Wellbeing Research Group and Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, UK
Presenting Author: no
Name: Richard Tyler
Affiliation: Sport, Physical Activity, Health, and Wellbeing Research Group and Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, UK
Presenting Author: no
Information
Study Type: Epidemiology
Subtheme: 24 hours
Population Group: Children
Setting: School
Submitting Author
Stuart Fairclough
Professor of Physical activity, Health, and Wellbeing
Edge Hill University
United Kingdom
