How Children Move: Activity Pattern Characteristics in Lean and Obese Chinese Children

Physical activity and sedentary behavior are central components of lifetime weight control; however, our understanding of dimensions of these behaviors in childhood is limited. This study investigated free-living activity pattern characteristics and the individual variability of these characteristic...

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Main Authors: Alison M. McManus, Eva Y. W. Chu, Clare C. W. Yu, Yong Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2011-01-01
Series:Journal of Obesity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/679328
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author Alison M. McManus
Eva Y. W. Chu
Clare C. W. Yu
Yong Hu
author_facet Alison M. McManus
Eva Y. W. Chu
Clare C. W. Yu
Yong Hu
author_sort Alison M. McManus
collection DOAJ
description Physical activity and sedentary behavior are central components of lifetime weight control; however, our understanding of dimensions of these behaviors in childhood is limited. This study investigated free-living activity pattern characteristics and the individual variability of these characteristics in 84 lean and obese Chinese children (7–9 y) during the school day and over the weekend. Activity pattern characteristics were established from triaxial accelerometry (StayHealthy RT3). Results indicated that children's free-living activity is characterized by many short-duration, low-intensity bouts of movement. Obese children take longer rest intervals between bouts and engage in fewer activity bouts both at school and at home. Intraindividual variability in activity patterns was low during school days but high for the rest intervals between bouts and number of activity bouts per day at the weekend. Finding ways to reduce the rest time between bouts of movement and increase the number of movement bouts a child experiences each day is an important next step.
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institution DOAJ
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language English
publishDate 2011-01-01
publisher Wiley
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series Journal of Obesity
spelling doaj-art-95b29aec372d4b1b8a50e0fbe4e80bfd2025-08-20T03:20:34ZengWileyJournal of Obesity2090-07082090-07162011-01-01201110.1155/2011/679328679328How Children Move: Activity Pattern Characteristics in Lean and Obese Chinese ChildrenAlison M. McManus0Eva Y. W. Chu1Clare C. W. Yu2Yong Hu3Institute of Human Performance, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Pokfulam, Hong KongDepartment of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong KongInstitute of Human Performance, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Pokfulam, Hong KongDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong KongPhysical activity and sedentary behavior are central components of lifetime weight control; however, our understanding of dimensions of these behaviors in childhood is limited. This study investigated free-living activity pattern characteristics and the individual variability of these characteristics in 84 lean and obese Chinese children (7–9 y) during the school day and over the weekend. Activity pattern characteristics were established from triaxial accelerometry (StayHealthy RT3). Results indicated that children's free-living activity is characterized by many short-duration, low-intensity bouts of movement. Obese children take longer rest intervals between bouts and engage in fewer activity bouts both at school and at home. Intraindividual variability in activity patterns was low during school days but high for the rest intervals between bouts and number of activity bouts per day at the weekend. Finding ways to reduce the rest time between bouts of movement and increase the number of movement bouts a child experiences each day is an important next step.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/679328
spellingShingle Alison M. McManus
Eva Y. W. Chu
Clare C. W. Yu
Yong Hu
How Children Move: Activity Pattern Characteristics in Lean and Obese Chinese Children
Journal of Obesity
title How Children Move: Activity Pattern Characteristics in Lean and Obese Chinese Children
title_full How Children Move: Activity Pattern Characteristics in Lean and Obese Chinese Children
title_fullStr How Children Move: Activity Pattern Characteristics in Lean and Obese Chinese Children
title_full_unstemmed How Children Move: Activity Pattern Characteristics in Lean and Obese Chinese Children
title_short How Children Move: Activity Pattern Characteristics in Lean and Obese Chinese Children
title_sort how children move activity pattern characteristics in lean and obese chinese children
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/679328
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AT yonghu howchildrenmoveactivitypatterncharacteristicsinleanandobesechinesechildren