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Background: Sleep, sedentary behaviour, and physical activity are essential components within the 24-hour time frame. Existing questionnaires used to measure these behaviours have insufficient measurement properties and are unsuitable for assessing compliance with the WHO Physical Activity and 24-hour Movement Guidelines. To describe the development process of the 24-hour Movement Questionnaire (QMov24h) and its testing. The QMov24h was developed to gather detailed information on sleep, sedentary behaviour, and physical activity., Methods: The sample comprised 117 participants (58% women), aged 30.95 ± 13.56 years. The development process of the QMov24h followed the COSMIN guidelines: (i) Construction of items; (ii) Face validity with end-users; (iii) Content validity with experts; (iv) Criterion validity against accelerometry and convergent validity against diary assessments; and (v) 7-day test-retest reliability., Results: The QMov24h presented adequate content and face validity. The QMov24h showed moderate criterion validity for sleep (rho=0.343;p<0.001), light physical activity (rho=0.31;p=0.002) and total aerobic physical activity (rho=0.343;p<0.001), as well as strong criterion validity for sedentary behaviour (rho=0.428;p<0.001) and aerobic moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (rho=0.534;p<0.001). Reliability varied from poor to excellent (ICC from 0.38 to 0.962;p<0.001) for all questionnaire variables. Regarding compliance of the 24-hour movement guidelines, the questionnaire also showed a strong to almost perfect percentage of agreement with accelerometry (from 69% to 94.3%), and minimal to strong reliability (k from 0.38 to 0.87) between the first and second administrations of the QMov24h., Conclusions: The QMov24h questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for assessing levels of movement behaviours and compliance with guidelines in adults. Its measurement properties are comparable to, or even better than, those of existing questionnaires, while posing a similar burden to participants. The QMov24h is useful for research, clinical practice, and public health surveillance. The QMov24h has strong psychometric properties, making it suitable for translation, cultural adaptation, and testing in diverse populations for broader international use., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

We aim to examine the changes in health-related physical fitness components, before and after COVID-19 social restrictions, in Police Academy cadets by age, sex, and physical activity (PA) level. A longitudinal analysis of 156 cadets (29.5% women) aged 25.4 ± 5.3 years old was conducted. All variables were collected before and after the lockdown period (13 weeks). PA levels were assessed with a self-reported questionnaire. Health-related physical fitness components were assessed based on the standardized protocols of morphological evaluation, speed, agility, strength, flexibility, and aerobic capacity tests. Despite the high correlations between pre- and post-pandemic social restrictions, we found significantly higher values for anthropometric indicators and lower physical fitness levels in post-pandemic restrictions, except for lower-body strength. When stratifying the sample by sex, age, and PA categories, the results indicate that the COVID-19 lockdown tends to differently impact anthropometric indicators and the physical fitness of the cadets, according to their sex, age, and PA categories. Our findings show that our sample reduces several health-related physical fitness components due to the social lockdown, with emphasis on cardiorespiratory fitness in men and upper-limb strength in women, highlighting the need to create effective strategies to keep police officers active during situations of less physical work., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Background: Sleep, sedentary behaviour and physical activity are constituent parts of a 24h period and there are several questionnaires to measure these movement behaviours, the objective was to systematically review the literature on content and measurement properties of self- and proxy-reported questionnaires measuring movement behaviours in adults and older adults., Methods: The databases PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO and SPORTDiscus were systematically searched until April 2021. Articles were included if: the questionnaires were design for adults and older adults; the sample size for validity studies had at least 50 participants; at least, both validity and test-retest reliability results of questionnaire that were developed specifically to measure the amount of sleep, sedentary behaviour or physical activity, or their combination were reported; and articles had to be written in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian or Chinese., Findings and Conclusions: Data extraction, results, studies' quality, and risk of bias were evaluated using the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines. Fifty-five articles were included in this review, describing 60 questionnaires. None of the questionnaires showed adequate criterion validity and adequate reliability, simultaneously; 68.3% showed adequate content validity. The risk of bias for criterion validity and reliability were very low in 72.2% and 23.6% of the studies, respectively. Existing questionnaires have insufficient measurement properties and frequent methodologic limitations, and none was developed considering the 24h movement behaviour paradigm. The lack of valid and reliable questionnaires assessing 24h movement behaviours in an integrated way, precludes accurate monitoring and surveillance systems of 24h movement behaviours., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The Australian and Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines for children and youth synthesized studies in English and French or other languages (if able to be translated with Google translate) and found very few studies published in English from Arabic countries that examined the relationship between objectively measured sedentary behaviour (SB), sleep and physical activity (PA) and health indicators in children aged 5-12 years. The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the relationships between 24-hour movement behaviours and health indicators in school-aged children from Arab-speaking countries. Online databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, SPORTdiscus, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Scopus were searched for English, French and Arabic studies (written in English), while Saudi Digital Library, ArabBase, HumanIndex, KSUP, Pan-Arab Academic Journal, e-Marefa, Al Manhal eLibrary and Google Scholar were searched for Arabic studies. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework was used to assess the risk of bias and the quality of evidence for each health indicator. A total of 16 studies, comprising 15,346 participants from nine countries were included. These studies were conducted between 2000 and 2019. In general, low levels of PA and sleep and high SB were unfavourably associated with adiposity outcomes, behavioural problems, depression and low self-esteem. Favourable associations were reported between sleep duration and adiposity outcomes. SB was favourably associated with adiposity outcomes, withdrawn behaviour, attention and externalizing problems. PA was favourably associated with improved self-esteem and adiposity outcomes. Further studies to address the inequality in the literature in the Arab-speaking countries to understand the role of 24-hour movement behaviours and its positive influence on health outcomes across childhood are urgently needed.

Lack of physical activity is a global public health problem causing not only morbidity and premature mortality, but it is also a major economic burden worldwide. One of the cornerstones of a physically active lifestyle is Motor Competence (MC). MC is a complex biocultural attribute and therefore, its study requires a multi-sectoral, multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approach. MC is a growing area of research, especially in children and adolescents due to its positive association with a plethora of health and developmental outcomes. Many questions, however, remain to be answered in this field of research, with regard to: (i) Health and Developmental-related Associations of MC; (ii) Assessment of MC; (iii) Prevalence and Trends of MC; (iv) Correlates and Determinants of MC; (v) MC Interventions, and (vi) Translating MC Research into Practice and Policy. This paper presents a narrative review of the literature, summarizing current knowledge, identifying key research gaps and presenting questions for future investigation on MC in children and adolescents. This is a collaborative effort from the International Motor Competence Network (IMCNetwork) a network of academics and researchers aiming to promote international collaborative research and knowledge translation in the expansive field of MC. The knowledge and deliverables generated by addressing and answering the aforementioned research questions on MC presented in this review have the potential to shape the ways in which researchers and practitioners promote MC and physical activity in children and adolescents across the world., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Background: Because the elevated blood pressure (BP) in childhood is strongly associated with overweight and is a risk factor for later cardiovascular disease, a need to comprehend the early development of BP and its association with overweight is needed. We assessed differences of BP by weight status in Australian toddlers., Methods: From the Get-Up! Study in Australia, this sample included 265 toddlers (136 boys), aged 19.6 ± 4.2 months. BP was measured with a digital vital signs monitor. Participants were categorized as nonoverweight and overweight according to the World Health Organization definition for body mass index (BMI). Physical activity was captured with activPAL accelerometers, during childcare hours. To test differences in BP between nonoverweight and overweight children, we performed an analysis of covariance adjusting for sex, age, physical activity, and socioeconomic status., Results: Children with overweight showed higher z systolic BP values ( P  = .042 for BMI and P  = .023 for waist circumference) when compared to nonoverweight children. However, no differences were found for z diastolic BP levels, between overweight and nonoverweight children. After adjustments for potential confounders (socioeconomic status, physical activity, sex, and age), there were no significant differences in BP variables between BMI and waist circumference groups., Conclusions: No associations between adiposity and BP levels were found in this sample. The unadjusted results, however, showed that children with higher levels of adiposity (BMI and waist circumference) exhibited higher levels of BP. Additional research is needed to determine which environmental and genetic factors might contribute to pediatric hypertension, particularly among toddlers., Competing Interests: Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.None., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of PBJ-Associação Porto Biomedical/Porto Biomedical Society. All rights reserved.)

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings have a pivotal role in the promotion of physical activity for young children, and thus, the number of ECEC-based physical activity interventions has exponentially increased in the last two decades. The aim of this study was three-fold: (1) to discuss some of the similarities and differences in ECEC-based physical activity interventions, (2) to highlight current trends and issues in the ECEC sector relating to such interventions, and (3) to provide recommendations for future interventions. Twenty-four individual studies are discussed. Most studies have targeted children aged between 3 and 5 years and involved children participating in additional physical activity opportunities while at childcare. In all studies, educators participated in some professional development either prior or during the intervention. Less the half of the studies discussed reported significant positive changes in physical activity outcomes. Those involved in developing future interventions will need to consider current national and international trends in the ECEC sector (e.g., over-crowded curriculum, administrative requirements, and more highly-qualified educators devoting time for business development), as well as creative and unique ways of delivering ECEC-based physical activity interventions.

This study aimed to investigate the association between dairy product consumption and metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in Portuguese adolescents, and whether the association differed by weight status. A cross-sectional study was conducted during the school year 2011/2012 with 412 Portuguese adolescents (52.4% girls) in 7th and 10th grade (aged 12 to 18 years old). The World Health Organization cutoffs were used to categorize adolescents as non-overweight (NW) or overweight (OW). Blood samples were collected to analyze C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), leptin, and adiponectin. Dairy product intake was evaluated using a food frequency questionnaire. Participants were divided by tertiles according to the amount of dairy product consumed. The associations between dairy product consumption with metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers were evaluated using generalized linear regression models with logarithmic link and gamma distribution and adjusted for potential confounders. The majority of adolescents were NW (67.2%). NW adolescents had lower IL-6, CRP, and leptin concentration than their counterparts ( p < 0.05, for all comparisons). Higher levels of total dairy product and milk intake were inversely associated with IL-6 (P for trend <0.05, for all) in NW adolescents, but not in OW adolescents. NW adolescents in the second tertile of yogurt consumption had lower level of IL-6 compared to those in the first tertile ( p = 0.004). Our results suggest an inverse association between total dairy product and milk intake and serum concentrations of IL-6 only among NW adolescents.

Background: For effective public health and surveillance it is important to document the proportion of young children who meet the new Australian Integrated 24 h Movement Guidelines for the Early Years and how these associate with health outcomes. We aimed to (i) assess compliance with the new Integrated 24 h Movement Guidelines for the Early Years in a sample of Australian toddlers; and (ii) ascertain whether compliance with the guidelines associates with weight status., Methods: The sample comprised 202 toddlers (104 girls) aged 19.74 ± 4.07 months from the GET UP!, Study: Participants wore accelerometers (Actigraph GT3X+) for 24 h over 7 consecutive days to assess physical activity, sedentary time and sleep. Parents reported participants' screen time. Weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) z-scores by age and sex were calculated. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to test differences in BMI z-scores between participants complying with (i) none or any individual guideline, (ii) any combination of meeting two guidelines, and (iii) those who met all three guidelines, adjusting for child age, gender and socioeconomic status., Results: Only 8.9% of the sample met the overall 24 h movement guidelines. Most of the sample met the physical activity (96.5%) and sleep (79.7%) guidelines but only 11.4% met the sedentary behavior guideline. Average BMI Z-scores did not significantly differ between children who complied with none or any individual guideline, any combination of meeting two guidelines, and those who met all three guidelines (p > 0.05). Although the lack of significant differences, participants who accomplished any combination of two guidelines or all three guidelines appear to have had a lower BMI Z-score than those complying with one of the guidelines or none., Conclusions: Just under 9% of our sample met the overall Australian 24 h Movement Guidelines for the Early Years. BMI was not associated with the accomplishment of any of the 24-h Movement Guidelines. Strategies to promote adherence to the 24-h movement guidelines in toddlers, particularly for screen time, are necessary, as promoting health-related behaviors in early childhood has the potential to provide children a strong foundation for lifelong physical and mental health.

Background: The educational and cognitive differences associated with low socioeconomic status begin early in life and tend to persist throughout life. Coupled with the finding that levels of sedentary time are negatively associated with cognitive development, and time spent active tends to be lower in disadvantaged circumstances, this highlights the need for interventions that reduce the amount of time children spend sitting and sedentary during childcare. The proposed study aims to assess the effects of reducing sitting time during Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services on cognitive development in toddlers from low socio-economic families., Methods/design: We will implement a 12-months 2-arm parallel group cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) with Australian toddlers, aged 12 to 26 months at baseline. Educators from the ECEC services allocated to the intervention group will receive professional development on how to reduce sitting time while children attend ECEC. Participants' cognitive development will be assessed as a primary outcome, at baseline and post-intervention, using the cognitive sub-test from the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development., Discussion: This trial has the potential to inform programs and policies designed to optimize developmental and health outcomes in toddlers, specifically in those from disadvantaged backgrounds., Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12616000471482 , 11/04/2016, retrospectively registered.