Chia, Michael

The 24-hour movement guidelines (24-h MG) recommend behaviors (physical activity, screen time, sleep) to aid appropriate physical and mental development in early childhood. This research examined parents’ digital media habits (DMH), engagement (DME), and awareness (DMA) among parents in relation to their preschool-aged children’s 24-h MG in Japan and identified and compared the modifiable determinants of adherence to 24-h MG in urban and rural regions. This cross-sectional study included 867 participants and data were obtained from the International Ipreschooler Surveillance Study Among Asians and OtheRs (IISSAAR). The results revealed that adherence to weekend screen time recommendations and weekday sleep duration were higher in the urban region. The parents’ digital media variables that predicted moderate-intensity to vigorous-intensity physical activity among preschool-aged children were parents’ DME and DMA in the urban regions and parents’ DME in the rural regions. The children’s screen time was significantly associated with parents’ DMH, DME, and DMA in the urban regions and with parents’ DMH and DMA in the rural regions (p < 0.005, p < 0.001, respectively). This study confirmed that parents’ DMH, DME, and DMA are strong predictors of adherence to 24-h MG among preschool-aged children living in both rural and urban regions in Japan.

The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of training status, different intensities, durations and modes of exercises on the activity of complement receptor type 1 (CR1) of erythrocytes. Fifteen sedentary male adults and 15 male adult endurance athletes performed five separate treadmill exercise trials: max VO2 test (T1), exercise at 40% max VO2 for 30 min (T2), 80% max VO2 for 30 min (T3) and for 60 min (T4) and downhill running (-10% gradient) at 60% max VO2 for 30 min (T5). Blood samples were taken before exercise, immediately, one h, two h and 24 h after each exercise trial to assay the activity of erythrocyte CR1. The results showed that there was no significant difference between trained and untrained participants in erythrocyte-tumor cell rosette (ETCR) formations at rest (p>0.05). ETCR was significantly decreased after five exercise trials (p<0.05). Changes in ETCR were more obvious after T1, T3 and T4. ETCR 24 h after T5 was significantly lower than that after uphill running. Greater reductions and slower recoveries in ETCR were found in the untrained group than in the trained group. The results indicated that erythrocyte CR1 activity at rest was not affected by training status, but was significantly inhibited by acute exercise. Exercise at higher intensities and longer durations resulted in a greater suppression in the activity of erythrocyte CR1. The suppression was more marked in the untrained participants than in the trained participants. Downhill running induced a longer delay in recovery in erythrocyte CR1 activity compared to uphill running.

The objective of the study was to determine the proportion of preschool children under 5 years old meeting the 24-h World Health Organisation guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep. Another objective was to examine the association between the health-related quality of life and meeting these guidelines among preschool children in Singapore. Parents completed an online and anonymous SMALLQ® (Surveillance of digital Media hAbits in earLy chiLdhood Questionnaire) on children’s physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep. Meeting the 24-h WHO guidelines meant, within a 24-h period, (i) having at least 180 min of physical activity (ii) engaging in less than 60 min of screen media and (iii) having 10–13 h of good quality sleep. Parent-reported health-related quality of life of the children was determined using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™, collected online at the same time. Parent-reported data showed that 12.6% met none while 9.6% of preschool children met all the WHO guidelines. 70.7%, 56.9% and 26.5%, of preschool children respectively, achieved the sleep, physical activity and screen media use guidelines within a 24-h period. 40.5% met two guidelines while 37.4% met one guideline. Significant differences were detected in the health-related quality of life among preschool children who met all, none, or met 1–2 of the WHO guidelines (i.e. total health score: 82.9 ± 12.4 vs. 76.4 ± 15.1 vs. 78.6 ± 14.5%, p < 0.05; ƞ2 = 0.008–0.11). Our results show that the health-related quality of life of preschool children increased with the number of WHO guidelines accomplished.

This study investigates the effects of different types of physical activity (PA) on the physical fitness (PF) of young children in Japan, with a particular focus on how substituting sedentary behavior (SB) with active behaviors influences PF. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 1843 participants aged 3–6 years from northeastern Japan. Using triaxial accelerometers, we quantified PA, and PF was assessed via standardized tests. The innovative application of isotemporal substitution modeling (ISM) allowed us to analyze the impact of reallocating time from SB to more active states, specifically moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and light physical activity (LPA). Our findings reveal a robust association between increased MVPA and enhanced PF outcomes, underscoring the health benefits of reducing SB. Notably, replacing SB with LPA also showed beneficial effects on certain PF metrics, indicating LPA's potential role in early childhood fitness. These results highlight the critical importance of promoting MVPA and minimizing sedentary periods to bolster PF in young children. The study offers vital insights for shaping public health policies and emphasizes the need to cultivate an active lifestyle from an early age to secure long-term health advantages.

Many consider the Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) as a reference standard assessment mode in the measurement of lower limb short-term power output. However the WAnT is criticised for having low ecological validity, in non-cycling tasks and is reliant on a predetermined applied force, which might not elicit the highest power output. A viable alternative to the WAnT is the Non-Motorised Treadmill (NMT) Test, which allows for power measurement in all-out intensity effort sprint-running. With the reliability of the NMT to elicit power in sedentary adults already established, the aim was to compare peak power (PP) and mean power (MP) derived from a 10-s sprint on the NMT to that derived from a 10-s WAnT, to establish concurrent validity. Materials and Methods: Twelve male [age 26.6 ± 2.4 years, body mass (BM)63.0± 7.2 kg] and 11 female (age 25.3±3.6 years, BM 51.0±4.0 kg) sedentary adults participated in the study. PP and MP in absolute, ratio-scaled and allometrically-scaled to BM were analysed. Ratio limits of agreement (LOA) was used to establish the agreement between PP and MP from the NMT and the WAnT.~: PP in absolute and ratio-scaled to BM from the NMT was between 1.04 and 1.12 times that ofPP from the WAnT in 95% ofthe attempts (PP: NMT, 647.1 ± 176.4Wvs WAnT,597.0± 146.0W). MP in absolute and ratio-scaled to BMfrom the NMT test was between 0.88 and 0.97 times of that from the WAnT (MP: NMT, 508.9 ± 130.7W vs WAnT, 548.7 ± l31.3W). Power produced on the NMT and the WAnT by sedentary adults shared moderate and acceptable levels of agreement. Conclusions: These results affirmed that the NMT could be considered as a viable alternative to the WAnT for the assessment ofPP and MP in allout intensity sprint-running lasting 10 s in sedentary adults.

Background: Adolescents require at least 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (PA) for optimum health benefits. Reduced active and increased sedentary time can adversely affect health independently. This study investigated the sedentary behavior and physical activity patterns of Singaporean adolescents.
Methods: 233 adolescents aged 13-15 years participated in the study. Accelerometery was used to assess the daily PA patterns for three weekdays and two weekend days consecutively. Height, weight, BMI, waist circumference and waist-hip ratio were determined as surrogate measures of health.
Results: None of the participants achieved the recommended 60 minutes of daily MVPA on all five days. Significantly more time was spent engaging in sedentary activity compared to MVPA on both weekdays and weekends. MVPA and sedentary time were positively associated on weekdays after controlling for gender (p < .001). Weekday MVPA was positively associated with waist circumference (p < .001) and waist-hip ratio (p < .001).
Conclusion: Singaporean adolescents fall substantially short of meeting the daily PA recommendations. Separate strategies to promote PA may be necessary for adolescents of differing weight status and gender. Pragmatic rather than idealistic targets to promote PA need to be set based on population-specific baseline data.

The preschool years are a critical period for developing cognitive abilities such as reasoning, memorization, comprehension, quick thinking, and problem-solving. Sedentary behavior (SB) is known to be associated with cognitive development in preschool children. However, limited research has focused on how different types of SB (active, passive) and sedentary patterns (bouts, breaks) affect preschool children’s cognitive abilities. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate: (1) the relationship between sedentary types and preschoolers’ cognitive abilities; and (2) the relationship between sedentary patterns and preschoolers’ cognitive abilities. Preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years (n = 353) were recruited from 5 kindergartens in Changsha, Hunan, China. Sedentary types were reported by parents, sedentary patterns were measured by preschoolers wearing an ActiGraph wGT3X-BT for seven consecutive days, and cognitive abilities were assessed using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV). The relationships between variables were analyzed using multiple linear regression models. Non-screen-based active SB was associated with higher full-scale IQ and fluid reasoning index in boys and higher visual spatial index in girls. Screen-based active SB was negatively associated with overall cognitive ability. Passive SB potentially had a negative effect on overall cognitive ability, but screen-based passive SB was positively associated with higher fluid reasoning indices in girls. Preschoolers’ cognitive ability was positively associated with sedentary breaks, but not with sedentary bouts.

This study examined children’s adherence to the Singapore Integrated 24-Hour Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood in infants, toddlers and preschoolers aged 0–6 years. A total of 901 caregivers, comprising 219 infants, 379 toddlers, and 303 preschoolers, provided information regarding their children’s physical activity (PA), screen viewing time (SVT), and sleep durations on both weekdays and weekends. Meeting the 24-hour integrated activity guidelines was defined as follows: for infants ≥ 30 minutes per day of tummy time or floor-based play; zero SVT; total sleep of 14–17 hours per day for ages 0–3 months, 12–16 hours per day for ages 4–11 months; for toddlers ≥ 180 minutes of total PA per day; zero SVT under 2 years; <1 hour for ages 2 to less than 3 years; and a total sleep of 11–14 hours per day; for preschoolers ≥ 180 minutes of total PA per day; SVT <1 hour per day; total sleep of 10–13 hours per day for those aged 3–5 years, and 10–11 hours per day for 6-year-olds. Chi-squared tests were used to examine the differences in guideline adherence between weekdays and weekends. Compared to weekdays, during weekends there was a higher proportion of toddlers and preschoolers adhering to the PA guidelines (68.9% vs 50.1%; 78.9% vs 55.4%, respectively, p<0.05), and a lower proportion of toddlers adhering to SVT (38.8% vs 21.8%; p = 0.001). There was a declining adherence to all three activity guidelines as age groups progressed from infants (44.7%) to toddlers (15.8%) and then to preschoolers (9.4%). Concurrently, there was a decrease in adherence to SVT recommendations across the age groups, with adherence rates being highest among infants (83.1%), followed by toddlers (15.8%), and preschoolers (9.4%). Decreasing compliance with all three guidelines, coupled with a corresponding decline in adherence to SVT guidelines as children transition from toddlerhood to preschool age, is a cause for concern. This underscores the need for proactive efforts to educate caregivers about reducing or eliminating SVT among infants and young children.