Are context-specific measures of parental-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviour associated with accelerometer data in 2-9-year-old European children?

Vera Verbestel; Stefaan De Henauw; Karin Bammann; Gianvincenzo Barba; Charalambos Hadjigeorgiou; Gabriele Eiben; Kenn Konstabel; Eva Kovács; Yannis Pitsiladis; Lucia Reisch; Alba M. Santaliestra-Pasías; Lea Maes; Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij

doi:10.1017/S136898001400086X

Are context-specific measures of parental-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviour associated with accelerometer data in 2-9-year-old European children?

Vera Verbestel^*, Stefaan De Henauw, Karin Bammann, Gianvincenzo Barba, Charalambos Hadjigeorgiou, Gabriele Eiben, Kenn Konstabel, Eva Kovács, Yannis Pitsiladis, Lucia Reisch, Alba M. Santaliestra-Pasías, Lea Maes, Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

46 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective

The aim of the present study was to investigate if context-specific measures of parental-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviour are associated with objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time in children.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Seven European countries taking part in the IDEFICS (Identification and Prevention of Dietary- and Lifestyle-induced Health Effects in Children and Infants) study.

Subjects

Data were analysed from 2-9-year-old children (n 5982) who provided both parental-reported and accelerometer-derived physical activity/sedentary behaviour measures. Parents reported their children's daily screen-time, weekly sports participation and daily outdoor playtime by means of the Outdoor Playtime Checklist (OPC) and Outdoor Playtime Recall Questions (OPRQ).

Results

Sports participation, OPC- and OPRQ-derived outdoor play were positively associated with accelerometer-derived physical activity. Television viewing and computer use were positively associated with accelerometer-derived sedentary time. All parental-reported measures that were significantly associated with accelerometer outcomes explained only a minor part of the variance in accelerometer-derived physical activity or sedentary time.

Conclusions

Parental-reported measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour are not useful as a proxy for 2-9-year-old children's physical activity and sedentary time. Findings do not preclude the use of context-specific measures but imply that conclusions should be limited to the context-specific behaviours that are actually measured. Depending on the aim of the study, future research should carefully consider the choice of measurements, including the use of subjective or objective measures of the behaviour of interest or a combination of both.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	860-868
Number of pages	9
Journal	Public Health Nutrition
Volume	18
Issue number	5
Early online date	2 Jun 2014
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898001400086X
Publication status	Published - 8 May 2015

Scopus Subject Areas

Medicine (miscellaneous)
Nutrition and Dietetics
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

User-Defined Keywords

Accelerometer
Children
Physical activity
Proxy report
Sedentary behaviour

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1017/S136898001400086X

Cite this

Verbestel, V., De Henauw, S., Bammann, K., Barba, G., Hadjigeorgiou, C., Eiben, G., Konstabel, K., Kovács, E., Pitsiladis, Y., Reisch, L., Santaliestra-Pasías, A. M., Maes, L., & De Bourdeaudhuij, I. (2015). Are context-specific measures of parental-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviour associated with accelerometer data in 2-9-year-old European children? Public Health Nutrition, 18(5), 860-868. https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898001400086X

@article{2c48842782434d73b5f0d85a4c83ee05,

title = "Are context-specific measures of parental-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviour associated with accelerometer data in 2-9-year-old European children?",

abstract = "Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate if context-specific measures of parental-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviour are associated with objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time in children. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Seven European countries taking part in the IDEFICS (Identification and Prevention of Dietary- and Lifestyle-induced Health Effects in Children and Infants) study. Subjects Data were analysed from 2-9-year-old children (n 5982) who provided both parental-reported and accelerometer-derived physical activity/sedentary behaviour measures. Parents reported their children's daily screen-time, weekly sports participation and daily outdoor playtime by means of the Outdoor Playtime Checklist (OPC) and Outdoor Playtime Recall Questions (OPRQ). Results Sports participation, OPC- and OPRQ-derived outdoor play were positively associated with accelerometer-derived physical activity. Television viewing and computer use were positively associated with accelerometer-derived sedentary time. All parental-reported measures that were significantly associated with accelerometer outcomes explained only a minor part of the variance in accelerometer-derived physical activity or sedentary time. Conclusions Parental-reported measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour are not useful as a proxy for 2-9-year-old children's physical activity and sedentary time. Findings do not preclude the use of context-specific measures but imply that conclusions should be limited to the context-specific behaviours that are actually measured. Depending on the aim of the study, future research should carefully consider the choice of measurements, including the use of subjective or objective measures of the behaviour of interest or a combination of both.",

keywords = "Accelerometer, Children, Physical activity, Proxy report, Sedentary behaviour",

author = "Vera Verbestel and {De Henauw}, Stefaan and Karin Bammann and Gianvincenzo Barba and Charalambos Hadjigeorgiou and Gabriele Eiben and Kenn Konstabel and Eva Kov{\'a}cs and Yannis Pitsiladis and Lucia Reisch and Santaliestra-Pas{\'i}as, {Alba M.} and Lea Maes and {De Bourdeaudhuij}, Ilse",

note = "This work was done as part of the IDEFICS study (www.idefics.eu). The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the European Community within the Sixth RTD Framework Programme Contract No. 016181 (FOOD). Additionally, A.M.S.-P. received financial support by Fundaci{\'o}n Cuenca Villoro (Spain). Both funders had no role in the design, analysis or writing of this article. The information in this document reflects the authors{\textquoteright} view and is provided as is. Conflict of interest: None. Authorship: The work presented here was carried out in collaboration between all authors. V.V. and I.D.B. defined the research questions, carried out the analyses, interpreted the results and drafted the manuscript. S.D.H., K.B., G.B., C.H., G.E., K.K., E.K., Y.P., L.R., A.M.S.-P. and L.M. discussed the analyses, the interpretation and the presentation of the data in the manuscript. All authors have contributed to, seen and approved the manuscript. Ethics of human subject participation: Ethical approval for the study was granted by the respective ethical committees in all participating centres. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} The Authors 2014.",

year = "2015",

month = may,

day = "8",

doi = "10.1017/S136898001400086X",

language = "English",

volume = "18",

pages = "860--868",

journal = "Public Health Nutrition",

issn = "1368-9800",

publisher = "Cambridge University Press",