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Background: Insufficient sleep is potentially an important modifiable risk factor for obesity and poor physical activity and sedentary behaviours among children. However, inconsistencies across studies highlight the need for more objective measures. This paper examines the relationship between sleep duration and objectively measured physical activity, sedentary time and weight status, among a sample of Victorian Primary School children.Methods: A sub-sample of 298 grades four (n = 157) and six (n = 132) Victorian primary school children (aged 9.2-13.2 years) with complete accelerometry and anthropometry data, from 39 schools, were taken from a pilot study of a larger state based cluster randomized control trial in 2013. Data comprised: researcher measured height and weight; accelerometry derived physical activity and sedentary time; and self-reported sleep duration and hypothesised confounding factors (e.g. age, gender and environmental factors).Results: Compared with sufficient sleepers (67 %), those with insufficient sleep (<10 hrs/day) were significantly more likely to be overweight (OR 1.97, 95 % CI:1.11-3.48) or obese (OR 2.43, 95 % CI:1.26-4.71). No association between sleep and objectively measured physical activity levels or sedentary time was found.Conclusion: The strong positive relationship between weight status and sleep deprivation merits further research though PA and sedentary time do not seem to be involved in the relationship. Strategies to improve sleep duration may help obesity prevention initiatives in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Walking among dog owners may be a means to achieve health benefits, yet almost half of owners (approximately 30% of households) are not regularly walking their dogs. Current research on the correlates of dog walking has generally considered intention as the primary determinant of behavior, yet the intention-behavior relationship is modest. The purpose of this paper was to apply a framework designed to evaluate the intention-behavior gap, known as multi-process action control (M-PAC), to understand daily walking among dog owners.Method: A community sample of adult dog owners (N = 227) in Victoria, Canada completed M-PAC measures of motivational (dog and human outcome expectations, affective judgments, perceived capability and opportunity), regulatory (planning), and reflexive (automaticity, identity) processes as well as intention to walk and behavior.Results: Three intention-behavior profiles emerged: a) non-intenders who were not active (26%; n = 59), b) unsuccessful intenders who failed to enact their positive intentions (33%; n = 75), and c) successful intenders who were active (40%; n = 91). Congruent with M-PAC, a discriminant function analysis showed that affective judgements (r = 0.33), automaticity (r = 0.38), and planning (r = 0.33) distinguished between all three intention-behavior profiles, while identity (r = 0.22) and dog breed size (r = 0.28) differentiated between successful and unsuccessful intenders.Conclusions: The majority of dog owners have positive intentions to walk, yet almost half fail to meet these intentions. Interventions focused on affective judgments (e.g., more enjoyable places to walk), behavioral regulation (e.g., setting a concrete plan), habit (e.g., making routines and cues) and identity formation (e.g., affirmations of commitment) may help overcome difficulties with translating these intentions into action, thus increasing overall levels of walking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]