Sociodemographic Inequalities in Early Childhood 24-hour Movement Behaviours: the SUNRISE Finland Study

Background: Little is known about sociodemographic differences in early childhood movement behaviours.

Purpose: To examine whether meeting the WHO 24-h movement guidelines for yearly years (≥3h total physical activity [TPA], ≥1h moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA, 10–13h sleep, ≤1h screen time, and ≤1h restrained sitting) differed between boys and girls, urban/rural residence, and socioeconomic status (SES) of parents.

Methods: Data were collected from 202 3–4-year-old children (56% boys; 49% from urban Helsinki and 51% from rural areas) who participated in the first wave of data collection in the SUNRISE Finland Study in 2022. Children wore ActiGraph accelerometers on their waist for seven days to monitor PA and sleep. Caregivers reported country of origin, work and marital status, personal and household education and income, family assets, type of property, and child’s screen time and restrained sitting. Logistic regression analyses were performed adjusting for child age and sex.

Results: Girls were less likely to meet TPA guideline than boys (66% vs. 81% met the guideline, p=0.015). Children were less likely to meet TPA guideline if their parent had high compared to low education (68%;85%, p=0.032) or medium or high compared to low personal income (70%;70%;86%, p=0.022, p=0.034). Children with medium household assets were less likely to meet the restrained sitting guideline compared to low or high assets (59%;77%76%, p=0.040, p=0.026). Fewer children met the screen time (39%;54%, p=0.030) and restrained sitting (64%;77%, p=0.048) guidelines in rural compared to urban areas.

Conclusions: Meeting the WHO movement guidelines for early years differs between boys and girls, SES and urban/rural areas. Results from the whole dataset (>1,000 children) will be presented at the conference.

Practical implications: Sociodemographic inequalities in early childhood movement behaviours should be addressed in policy decision making and health promotion initiatives.

Funding: Ministry of Education and Culture, Vainio and Gyllenberg Foundations.