Association between Home Environment in Infancy and Child Movement Behaviors

The role of light exposure in infant circadian rhythm establishment: A scoping review perspective

Environmental light exposure plays a role in the entrainment of the infant circadian rhythm, which is crucial for growth and development. This scoping review aims to evaluate existing literature linking the role of light exposure in the development of the infant circadian rhythm. This scoping review is conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The search strategy was conducted in a total of six databases (PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Taylor and Francis, and Wiley) as of August 2024. Reviews, narrative studies, observational studies, and experimental studies published from 2012 to 2024 were extracted. These studies discussed the role of light exposure on the development of infant circadian rhythm. A total of 25 studies were retrieved (3 observational studies, 6 experimental studies, and 16 reviews). Evidence showed that cycled lighting is beneficial for the entrainment of the infant circadian rhythm according to the 24-h light-dark cycle. Cycled lighting improved nighttime sleep and daytime wakefulness, promoting optimum growth and development. Limited experimental studies were conducted due to the ethical considerations of infants as study participants. Conclusions: Given the benefits of cycled lighting in the development of the circadian rhythm development, it should be implemented in both healthcare and home settings to promote optimum growth and development of the infant.

Prevalence of meeting 24-Hour Movement Guidelines from pre-school to adolescence: A systematic review and meta-analysis including 387,437 participants and 23 countries

BACKGROUND

Meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines (physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration) has been associated with positive health indicators. However, there are no previous meta-analyses that have examined the overall adherence to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines from pre-school to adolescence across the world. Therefore, the main purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the overall (non)adherence to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines among preschoolers, children, and adolescents worldwide.

METHODS

Four electronic databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) were searched for quantitative studies published in Spanish and English between January 2016 and May 2021. Studies that were conducted with apparently healthy participants and reported the overall (non)adherence to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines in preschoolers and/or children and/or adolescents were included.

RESULTS

Sixty-three studies comprising 387,437 individuals (51% girls) aged 3-18 years from 23 countries were included. Overall, 7.12% (95% confidence interval (95%CI): 6.45%-7.78%) of youth met all three 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, and 19.21% (95%CI: 16.73%-21.69%) met none of the 3 recommendations. Concerning sex, adherence to all recommendations was significantly lower in girls (3.75%, 95%CI: 3.23%-4.27%) than in boys (6.89%, 95%CI: 5.89%-7.89%) (p < 0.001). However, there were no sex differences regarding adherence to any of the 3 individual recommendations (girls, 15.66%, 95%CI: 8.40%-22.92%; boys, 12.95%, 95%CI: 6.57%-19.33%). In terms of age group, adherence to the 3 recommendations was 11.26% (95%CI: 8.68%-13.84%), 10.31% (95%CI: 7.49%-13.12%), and 2.68% (95%CI: 1.78%-3.58%) in preschoolers, children, and adolescents, respectively. Conversely, 8.81% (95%CI: 5.97%-11.64%) of preschoolers, 15.57% (95%CI: 11.60%-19.54%) of children, and 28.59% (95%CI: 22.42%-34.75%) of adolescents did not meet any of the recommendations. South America was the region with the lowest adherence (all: 2.93%; none: 31.72%). Overall adherence to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines was positively related to country Human Development Index (β = -0.37, 95%CI: -0.65 to -0.09; p = 0.010).

CONCLUSION

Most young people fail to meet the three 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, particularly adolescents, girls, and those who are from countries with a lower Human Development Index. Moreover, 1 in 5 young people did not meet any of these recommendations. Therefore, these results highlight the need to develop age- and sex-specific strategies to promote these movement behaviors from the early stages of life.

How active can preschoolers be at home? Parents' and grandparents' perceptions of children's day-to-day activity, with implications for physical activity policy

BACKGROUND

The importance of physical activity in early childhood for establishing long-term health is well understood, yet with the exception of recent WHO guidelines, public health initiatives rarely focus on children below school age. Moreover, little is known about how domestic spaces and day-to-day caring activities influence preschool-age children's physical activity. To examine this, we explore caregivers' perceptions of young children's activities within and outside the home, and we consider how lived experiences of caregiving align (or not) with current physical activity policy.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews with 49 parents and grandparents from 16 families were conducted in Oregon, USA; each family had a child aged 3-5 years. Questions focused on caregivers' perceptions of and involvement with children's body weights, activities, and food practices. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Our analysis drew on a materialities framework, attending to relationships between children, caregivers, spaces in and around the home, and everyday activities.

RESULTS

Four themes were developed: appropriateness of outside versus inside spaces for physical activity; making accommodations for physical activity in the home; active spaces of care, referring to relationships among space, activity type, and caregiver attention; and mundane movement, or the low-intensity movement of everyday life. Together, the results highlight that children's day-to-day activities cut across a spectrum of movement, mediated by available spaces and caregiving affordances.

CONCLUSIONS

Attending to the full spectrum of children's movements highlights how children's activities interlink with family routines, available indoor and outdoor spaces, and the intended uses of these spaces. These interplays between space, care, and physical activity enacted at the household level should inform an integrated, systems-level public health approach to increasing health and well-being for preschool-age children. Suggestions for improvement include coordinating policy development across multiple fields (e.g., housing design, urban planning) that structure the activities of children and their caregivers across 'home' and 'outside' spaces.