Healthier movement behavior profiles are associated with higher psychological wellbeing among emerging adults attending post-secondary education

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the first decade of compositional data analyses of 24-hour movement behaviours, health, and well-being in school-aged children

INTRODUCTION

Movement behaviours (e.g., sleep, sedentary behaviour, light physical activity [LPA], moderate to vigorous physical activity [MVPA]) are associated with numerous health and well-being outcomes. Compositional data analyses (CoDA) accounts for the interdependent nature of movement behaviours. This systematic review and meta-analysis provides a timely synthesis of the first decade of CoDA research examining the association between movement behaviours, health, and well-being in school-aged children.

METHODS

Databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed studies examining CoDA associations between movement behaviours and health or well-being in school-aged children (5.0-17.9 years). All health and well-being outcomes were eligible for inclusion, as were all methods of reporting CoDA results. Where possible meta-analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

Twenty-six studies were included in the review. Sample sizes ranged from 88 - 5,828 (median = 387) participants and the mean ages ranged from 8 to 16 years. Regression parameters (kstudies=16) were the most common method of reporting results, followed by substitution effects (kstudies=12), optimal compositions (kstudies=3), and movement behaviour clusters (kstudies =1). Weighted compositional means of movement behaviours were calculated (e.g., 49.8 min/day of MVPA). For regression analyses, results were generally null, though some favourable trends were observed for MVPA and unfavourable trends for LPA and sedentary behaviour within individual health and well-being outcomes categories. Meta-analyses of substitutions supported the benefits of MVPA, with the risks of reducing MVPA for other movement behaviours being double the magnitude compared to the benefits of adding MVPA.

DISCUSSION

The most consistent conclusions within this review align with previous reviews that support the benefits of MVPA. Further, some evidence supported 24-hour movement behaviour guideline recommendations of increasing sleep and decreasing sedentary behaviour. This review also quantified not only the need to promote MVPA, but perhaps more importantly the urgency needed to preserve the limited MVPA children currently accumulate. Findings reinforce the "more/less is better" messages for movement behaviours, but do not allow us to recommend more specific balances of movement behaviours. As CoDA of movement behaviours progresses and accumulates further research, the methods and discussion points within the current review can aide future meta-analyses aimed at advancing the precision health guidance needed for optimizing children's health and well-being.

Associations between 24-h movement behaviors and indicators of mental health and well-being across the lifespan: a systematic review

Researchers have adopted a variety of analytical techniques to examine the collective influence of 24-h movement behaviors (i.e., physical activity, sedentary behaviors, sleep) on mental health, but efforts to synthesize this growing body of literature have been limited to studies of children and youth. This systematic review investigated how combinations of 24-h movement behaviors relate to indicators of mental ill-being and well-being across the lifespan. A systematic search of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, and SPORTDiscus was conducted. Studies were included if they reported all three movement behaviors; an indicator of mental ill-being or well-being; and were published in English after January 2009. Samples of both clinical and non-clinical populations were included. A total of 73 studies (n = 58 cross-sectional; n = 15 longitudinal) met our inclusion criteria, of which 47 investigated children/youth and 26 investigated adults. Seven analytical approaches were used: guideline adherence (total and specific combinations), movement compositions, isotemporal substitution, profile/cluster analyses, the Goldilocks method and rest-activity rhythmicity. More associations were reported for indicators of mental ill-being (n = 127 for children/youth; n = 53 for adults) than well-being (n = 54 for children/youth; n = 26 for adults). Across the lifespan, favorable benefits were most consistently observed for indicators of mental well-being and ill-being when all three components of the 24-h movement guidelines were met. Movement compositions were more often associated with indicators of mental health for children and youth than adults. Beneficial associations were consistently observed for indicators of mental health when sedentary behavior was replaced with sleep or physical activity. Other analytic approaches indicated that engaging in healthier and more consistent patterns of movement behaviors (emphasizing adequate sleep, maximizing physical activity, minimizing sedentary behaviors) were associated with better mental health. Favorable associations were reported less often in longitudinal studies. Collectively, these findings provide further support for adopting an integrative whole day approach to promote mental well-being and prevent and manage mental ill-being over the status quo of focusing on these behaviors in isolation. This literature, however, is still emerging-for adults in particular-and more longitudinal work is required to make stronger inferences.

Effects of a physical activity promotion programme on body composition in emerging adults with physical inactivity: a study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

A dramatic decline in physical activity may occur in emerging adulthood because of a major transition over the course of a life. The potential for implementing structured behaviour modification strategies to enhance risk-reducing clinical outcomes is widely recognised. The active participation of clients in the discussion and care process is crucial for optimising intervention outcomes and enhancing individuals' motivation to adopt and maintain healthy behaviours. This study therefore aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a physical activity promotion programme based on the goal attainment theory in relation to emerging adults' body composition, using a face-to-face and e-health blended interventions.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A two-arm, double-blind, randomised, controlled study will be conducted in 114 university students aged 18-25 years with physical inactivity. The intervention assignment will be blind to study participants, outcome assessors and study statisticians. A goal achievement theory-based physical activity promotion programme is developed in this study, which is a 16-week, face-to-face and e-health-blended physical activity promotion intervention. After informed consent, participants will be randomly assigned to either a control group or a treatment group before the start of the study. The primary outcome is body composition (ie, skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, body mass index and body fat percentage). Other outcomes include physical activity level, goal attainment scale scores, exercise self-efficacy and motivation level, which will be assessed during the intervention (every 4 weeks) and at the 1 month follow-up. Continuous variables have means and SD, while categorical variables have frequencies and percentages. Independent-samples t-tests will be used to compare continuous variable changes. χ2 tests will be used to compare categorical variable changes. Based on the baseline scores, analysis of covariance will compare the follow-up results.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hangzhou Normal University (ratification date: 14 November 2022, 2022059). The results of the study will be submitted for publication and dissemination in a peer-reviewed journal.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT05697679.