Only 1 in 10 children meet global health guidelines, researchers find

New research has found that only 14% of children aged three to four years get enough physical activity, sleep and time away from screens.

The analysis, led by the University of Wollongong (UOW) and supported by Dr Simone Tomaz from the University of Stirling, examined 7,017 children aged three to four years across 33 countries, aiming to provide a comprehensive snapshot of their health and activity. levels around the world.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) evidence-based global guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep for children under 5 years of age recommend that children aged three to four years old should undertake at least 180 hours of exercise within a 24-hour period. minutes of physical activity, of which 60 minutes should be of moderate to vigorous intensity, have less than an hour of sedentary screen time, and get 10 to 13 hours of good quality sleep.

Although the researchers noted differences across genders, regions and income levels by country, the universal finding was that most children were not getting enough exercise and were spending too much time on screens.

Dr. Kar Hau (John) Chong, an Associate Research Fellow at UOW’s School of Health and Society, was the lead author of the study. published in JAMA Pediatricsand said the findings were concerning as early childhood was the best time to lay the foundation for healthy habits.

He said: “Staying active, getting enough sleep and resting when necessary are incredibly important for a child’s overall development, physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. This behavior affects how a child grows and blossoms.

“We know that early childhood, under the age of five, is a crucial time for forming lifelong habits. Yet most children don’t get enough physical activity and spend too much time on screens. This really shines a light on a major public health problem that could impact the health and well-being of everyone in the future if we don’t take the steps to address the problem.”

The data revealed inequalities in children’s exercise behavior around the world, with slightly more children in low- and lower-middle-income countries (16.6%) meeting WHO guidelines than in high-income countries (14.4% ).

The Africa region had the highest percentage of children meeting the guidelines, at 23.9%, while the Americas had the lowest percentage, at just 7.7%.

Dr. Simone Tomaz, a lecturer in exercise physiology at the University of Stirling, was a postdoctoral researcher on the project while at the University of Cape Town.

She said: “It goes without saying that children under the age of five – whether they are growing up in Scotland or South Africa – thrive when they are in an environment that encourages healthy sleep behavior and provides opportunities to be physically active. There is still There is still much work to be done, but continued efforts to understand sleep, physical activity and screen time in young children around the world puts us all in a better position to optimize these health-related behaviors.”

Dr. Chong said the findings should be used to inform policies that encourage children’s exercise behavior, but change doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

He said: “We need to understand the factors that influence these behaviors in children from different socio-cultural settings before implementing contextually appropriate programs and policies to encourage more exercise, less sedentary behavior and adequate sleep.

“It is essential to take a holistic approach where parents, educators, policy makers and communities must work together to create environments that support children to meet the guidelines. The health of future generations depends on solving these global problems .”

The paper, “Pooled analysis of physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep in children from 33 countries,” was written by more than 40 authors from universities around the world.

Dr. Tomaz continues to work on understanding physical activity and health for children and young people in Scotland and earlier this year published the research paper “A systematic review of physical activity and nutrition policies in Scotland: results from the Active Healthy Kids Report Card 2021.” She was also involved in collecting and analyzing data for research showing that the COVID-19 pandemic had exacerbated deficits in children’s physical activity, both in Scotland and around the world.

The Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (AHKGA) report compared 57 countries from six continents to assess global levels and trends in children and adolescents’ physical activity. The University of Strathclyde is leading the research in Scotland, working with the Universities of Stirling and Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University and the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Science Unit at the University of Glasgow.