Trajectories of physical activity and sedentary time in Norwegian children aged 3–9 years: a 5-year longitudinal study

Abstract

Background: Limited evidence exists regarding the longitudinal development of physical activity during early to mid childhood. The aim of this study was to determine physical activity and sedentary time trajectories in children aged 3‒9 years from Western Norway. Methods: A sample of 294 children (51% boys; aged 3‒5 years at baseline) from the Sogn og Fjordane Preschool Physical Activity Study was followed annually over 5 years (2015‒2019). Physical activity was measured every autumn during this period using hip-based accelerometry (ActiGraph GT3X+). Data was processed as counts. We used linear mixed models to analyse the data. Primary analyses included trajectories for total and intensity-specific physical activity (light, moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous intensity) and sedentary time for boys and girls using 1-s epoch. Secondary analyses included trajectories for weekdays versus weekend days, preschool/school hours versus after school hours, and 1- versus 60-s epoch lengths. Results: Over the total day, significant associations with age were found for boys and girls for all physical activity intensities and sedentary time (p