Outdoor time, screen time and sleep reported across early childhood: concurrent trajectories and maternal predictors.

Background: Understanding the developmental trajectories of outdoor time, screen time and sleep is necessary to inform early interventions that promote healthy behaviours. This study aimed to describe concurrent trajectories of outdoor time, screen time and sleep across the early childhood period and their maternal predictors.

Methods: Data across five time points at child age 4, 9, 19, 42 and 60 months from the INFANT intervention were analysed.

Associations between the neighbourhood social environment and preschool children's physical activity and screen time.

Background: The neighbourhood social environment (NSE) has been associated with physical activity and screen time behaviours in adults and youth however less is known about this relationship in preschool-aged children (2-5 years). This study seeks to explore associations between the NSE and the physical activity and screen time behaviours of preschool-aged children.

Method: Cross-sectional data was collected in 2019.

How to Change Young Children's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Mechanisms of Behavior Change in the INFANT Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Understanding the mechanisms (mediators) of behavior change is crucial to designing more effective interventions. However, this is rarely reported. This paper investigates the mechanisms that explain the lack of intervention effect on physical activity and the significant effect on television viewing time from an early childhood trial.

The reliability and validity of a physical activity and sedentary behaviour home audit tool for children aged 2-5 years.

Objectives: To test the reliability and validity of a physical activity and sedentary behaviour home environment audit tool for young children (2-5 years old).

Design: Cross-sectional.

Methods: Parents of children aged 2-5 years were recruited through online methods (i.

Influences on physical activity and screen time amongst postpartum women with heightened depressive symptoms: a qualitative study.

Background: Postpartum women are at higher risk of depression compared to the general population. Despite the mental health benefits an active lifestyle can provide, postpartum women engage in low physical activity and high screen time. Very little research has investigated the social ecological (i.

Total testosterone is not associated with lean mass or handgrip strength in pre-menopausal females.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between endogenous testosterone concentrations and lean mass and handgrip strength in healthy, pre-menopausal females. Testosterone has been positively associated with lean mass and strength in young and older males. Whether this relationship exists in pre-menopausal females is unknown.

What Factors Help Young Children Develop Positive Perceptions of Their Motor Skills?

A positive perception of motor skills is important for physical activity participation. The aim was to investigate which modifiable factors predict children's perceived motor skills. Mothers completed questionnaires when their child was 3.

Co-participation in physical activity: perspectives from Australian parents of pre-schoolers.

Co-participation in physical activity may be important for helping families with young children meet physical activity recommendations. Yet, little is known about what families perceive to be the benefits, barriers and facilitators of co-participation. This study explored (i) parents' perceptions about physical activity and possible benefits of family-based co-participation in physical activity, (ii) their perceived facilitators and barriers to co-participation and (iii) their recommendations for improving co-participation within their community.

Modifiable factors which predict children's gross motor competence: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Fundamental motor skills (FMS) are important for physical activity and healthy weight status in children, yet it is unclear which early childhood factors facilitate subsequent motor skill. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate which modifiable family and home environment factors in the early years predict children's FMS at age five.

Methods: Mothers from the Melbourne InFANT program (registered with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register (ISRCTN81847050)) completed questionnaires when child was aged 4, 9, 19 months old, and 3.

Paternal self-efficacy for promoting children's obesity protective diets and associations with children's dietary intakes.

Objective: Fathers' parenting behaviours contribute to the development of children's dietary behaviours and subsequent weight outcomes, yet the majority of research focusses on maternal influences. Understanding fathers' perceptions of their effectiveness to influence children's dietary behaviours will allow the development of whole-of-family interventions promoting obesity protective behaviours. This unique study is the first to investigate 1) tracking of paternal self-efficacy for promoting obesity protective dietary intakes in young children; 2) demographic characteristics of fathers and their self-efficacy category; and 3) associations between paternal self-efficacy and young children's dietary intakes.

Changes in volume and bouts of physical activity and sedentary time across early childhood: a longitudinal study.

Background: Understanding changes in physical activity and sedentary time (SED) during early childhood may provide insights into how to effectively promote a healthy start to life. This study examined changes in total volume and bouts of SED, light- (LPA), and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) across early childhood, and explored differences in change between boys and girls.

Methods: Data were drawn from 330 children participating in the Melbourne InFANT Program, collected between 2008 and 2013 and analysed in 2017.

Interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour in 0-5-year-olds: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Aim Or Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of behavioural interventions that report sedentary behaviour outcomes during early childhood.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Complete, Global Health, MEDLINE Complete, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus with Full Text and EMBASE electronic databases were searched in March 2016.

Feasibility and Efficacy of a Parent-Focused, Text Message-Delivered Intervention to Reduce Sedentary Behavior in 2- to 4-Year-Old Children (Mini Movers): Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Despite public health guidelines to limit sedentary behavior, many young children spend large amounts of time sedentary (eg, screen and sitting time) during waking hours.

Objective: The objective of this study was to test the feasibility and efficacy of a parent-focused, predominantly text message-delivered intervention to support parents to reduce the amount of time their children spend in sedentary behavior.

Methods: Mini Movers was a pilot randomized controlled trial delivered to parents of 2- to 4-year-old children in Melbourne, Australia.

Proportion of infants meeting the Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years: data from the Melbourne InFANT Program.

Background: Little information is available on the movement behaviours of infants, despite evidence that these are important for development. The release of new Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines provides an opportunity to document the current state of movement behaviours in infants relative to these guidelines. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of 4 month old Australian infants meeting the 24-hour Movement Guidelines, individually, and in combination, and to describe associations with individual characteristics.

Maternal-child co-participation in physical activity-related behaviours: prevalence and cross-sectional associations with mothers and children's objectively assessed physical activity levels.

Background: Co-participation in physical activity may be a useful strategy for increasing physical activity in mothers and their young children, yet little empirical evidence exists on this topic for young families. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of mother-child co-participation in physical activity and examine the association between co-participatory behaviours and objectively-assessed physical activity in young children and their mothers.

Methods: One-hundred twenty-three 4-6 year-old children and their mothers were recruited from preschools in Belgium between November 2010 and January 2011.

Do the correlates of screen time and sedentary time differ in preschool children?

Background: Preschool children can spend up to 12 h a day in sedentary time and few meet current recommendations for screen time. Little is known about ecological correlates that could be targeted to decrease specific versus total sedentary behaviour. This study examined whether the correlates of screen time and sedentary time differ in preschool boys and girls.

A mobile technology intervention to reduce sedentary behaviour in 2- to 4-year-old children (Mini Movers): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Sedentary behaviour (e.g. television viewing, sitting time) tracks over time and is associated with adverse health and developmental outcomes across the lifespan.

Maternal correlates of young children's physical activity across periods of the day.

Objectives: Associations between maternal correlates and young children's physical activity levels across the whole day and the segmented day were examined.

Design: Cross-sectional study METHODS: Participants were 136 mothers and their 1-3 year old children recruited between July 2013 and March 2014. Mothers reported time spent providing physical activity opportunities for their child, co-participating in and modelling physical activity and sedentary behaviours during the morning, afternoon and evening.

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

Background: Identifying context-specific correlates of home- and neighbourhood-based physical activity in preschool-aged children may help improve intervention program development for these settings.

Methods: A total of 153 3-4-year-old children were recruited through preschool settings in Cambridgeshire (January-July 2013). Children wore Actiheart accelerometers for ≤7 days to assess their sedentary time (ST), light-(LPA) and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA).

How many days of monitoring are needed to reliably assess SenseWear Armband outcomes in primary school-aged children?

Objectives: To identify the number of hours and days or nights of monitoring required to reliably estimate energy expenditure (EE), steps, waking sedentary time, light- (LPA), moderate- (MPA), vigorous- (VPA), moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), time in bed and total sleep time using the SenseWear Armband.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: One hundred and two children (50% boys) aged 8-11 years from six schools wore a SenseWear Armband (BodyMedia Inc, USA) for eight consecutive days (seven consecutive nights).

Tracking of maternal self-efficacy for limiting young children's television viewing and associations with children's television viewing time: a longitudinal analysis over 15-months.

Background: Mothers' self-efficacy for limiting their children's television viewing is an important correlate of this behaviour in young children. However, no studies have examined how maternal self-efficacy changes over time, which is potentially important during periods of rapid child development. This study examined tracking of maternal self-efficacy for limiting young children's television viewing over 15-months and associations with children's television viewing time.

A review of preschool children's physical activity and sedentary time using objective measures.

Context: Identifying current physical activity levels and sedentary time of preschool children is important for informing government policy and community initiatives. This paper reviewed studies reporting on physical activity and time spent sedentary among preschool-aged children (2-5 years) using objective measures.

Evidence Acquisition: Databases were searched for studies published up to and including April 2013 that reported on, or enabled the calculation of, the proportion of time preschool children spent sedentary and in light- and moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity.

A parent-focused intervention to reduce infant obesity risk behaviors: a randomized trial.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a parent-focused intervention on infants' obesity-risk behaviors and BMI.

Methods: This cluster randomized controlled trial recruited 542 parents and their infants (mean age 3.8 months at baseline) from 62 first-time parent groups.