Objectively measured physical activity in one-year-old children from a Brazilian cohort: Levels, patterns and determinants

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study is to describe objectively measured physical activity (PA) and its correlates in one-year-old children. Methods: The current study includes participants from the 2015 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort. At age one, PA was assessed in a 24-h protocol during 4 days with a wrist-attached accelerometer (ActiGraph, wGT3X-BT), from which two complete days of data were analyzed, with 5-s epochs. Results: A total of 2974 individuals provided valid accelerometry data. Infants able to walk independently spent on average 19 h per day below 50 mg of acceleration (including sleep time), and those who could not walk spent on average 21 h in this intensity category. Girls spent approximately 10 min more than boys below 50 mg daily in both walking status categories, and less activity than boys on higher intensity categories. Boys and infants whose mothers were more physically active during pregnancy presented more acceleration, regardless of walking status. Among infants who could walk by themselves, those with mothers with one to eight schooling years; adequate length-for-age (z-score); not attending daycare; and more physically active fathers also showed higher levels of acceleration. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate higher levels of PA among boys and those children with higher maternal PA during pregnancy, regardless of walking status. Also, among infants able to independently walk, 1-8 years of maternal schooling, adequate length-for-age (z-score), no daycare attendance and higher paternal PA are positive correlates of objectively measured PA early in life.