Nana A. Kwofie, Adang Suherman, Alex A. Florindo, Amanda Staiano, H.A. Amy S., Anthony D. Okely, Asmaa El Hamdouchi, Bang Nguyen Pham, Catherine E. Draper, Chiaki Tanaka, Denise Koh, Dong Hoon Kim, E. Kipling Webster, Hongyan Guan, Hong Kim Tang, John J. Reilly, Kar Hau Chong, Marie Löf, Mark S. Tremblay, Mohammad Sorowar Hossain, Nyaradzai Munambah, Penny L. Cross, Pujitha Wickramasinghe, Thanh Van Kim, Xanne Janssen
Background: The evidence on associations between sedentary behaviour (SB) and motor skills in 3- to 4-year-olds is unclear and mostly from high-income countries. Objective: The objective of this study is to examine associations between (1) screen time (h/day) and total daily SB (h/day), and gross and fine motor skills, and (2) meeting the restraint, screen time and overall SB (restraint and screen time) guidelines and fine and gross motor skills. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 1394 3- to 4-year-olds from the pilot phase of the SUNRISE International study. Time spent in SB was measured using the activPAL accelerometer, whereas screen time and restraint were measured using a parent questionnaire. Fine and gross motor skills were measured using parent-reported Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3). Associations between SB and motor skills were determined using linear and logistic regression, adjusting for sex and socioeconomic status. Results: Every additional 1 h of screen time was associated with 0.50-point reduction in gross motor skills scores (p = 0.008). More screen time was associated with decreased odds of being on track for fine and gross motor skill development (p < 0.001 and p = 0.017, respectively). Meeting the screen time (p = 0.009) and overall SB guidelines (p = 0.006) were favourably associated with fine motor skills scores. Meeting the screen time, restraint and overall SB guidelines were favourably associated with gross motor skills scores (p = 0.007, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively), higher odds of being on track for fine (p = 0.033, p = 0.015 and p < 0.001, respectively) and gross motor skills (p = 0.006, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) development. Conclusion: The present study adds to the evidence on the importance of sedentary behaviour for the motor development of 3- to 4-year-olds. It is important that policy makers and health educators develop strategies that will encourage and promote adherence to sedentary behaviour guidelines among 3- and 4-year-olds. © 2025 The Author(s). Child: Care, Health and Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Department of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom; Faculty of Sport and Health Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia; Universidade de Sao Paulo Escola de Artes Ciencias e Humanidades, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, United States; Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, Faculty of Education, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Early Start, School of Health and Society, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia; Unité Mixte de Recherche Nutrition et Alimentation, Regional Designated Center of Nutrition, Kenitra, Morocco; Population Health and Demography Unit, PNG Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, Papua New Guinea; MRC-Wits DPHRU, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; College of Health and Welfare, J F Oberlin University, Machida, Japan; Centre of Community Education and Well-Being, Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan, Bangi, Malaysia; Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, Seoul, South Korea; Institute of Public and Preventive Health, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States; Nurturing Care Research and Guidance Center for Infant and Young Children, Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Child Development and Nutriomics, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China; Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Department Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Biomedical Research Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Rehabilitation Sciences Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe; Research Services Office, Research and Innovation Division, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka; Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
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