Trial reportEuropean journal of applied physiology2016
Kids are not little adults: what MET threshold captures sedentary behavior in children?
Trial report in European journal of applied physiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Psychometric Properties of Physical Activity Questionnaires for Children and Adolescents: An Updated Systematic Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of providing access to a cycling exergaming platform on cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic health in adolescents: a randomised, controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Evaluating machine learning approaches to predict the energy expenditure of cross-national preschool children: a study of preprocessing and feature effects.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Article
- Machine learning applications in the analysis of sedentary behavior and associated health risks.Frontiers in artificial intelligence · 2025Review
- Development and Calibration of a PATCH Device for Monitoring Children's Heart Rate and Acceleration.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2024Article
- Accumulating Sedentary Time and Physical Activity From Childhood to Adolescence and Cardiac Function in Adolescence.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2024Article
- Low movement, deep-learned sitting patterns, and sedentary behavior in the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE).International journal of obesity (2005) · 2023Article
- Decreasing Sedentary Behaviors in Youth to Prevent and Manage Childhood Obesity: Is It Realistic?Current atherosclerosis reports · 2023Review
- Psychosocial and environmental risk factors of obesity and hypertension in children and adolescents-a literature overview.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2023Review
- A Longitudinal Examination of Withholding All or Part of School Recess on Children's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Evidence from a Natural Experiment.Early childhood education journal · 2023Article
- Time-Varying Associations Between Device-Based and Ecological Momentary Assessment-Reported Sedentary Behaviors and the Concurrent Affective States Among Adolescents: Proof-of-Concept Study.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Momentary intentions and perceived behavioral control are within-person predictors of sedentary leisure time: preliminary findings from an ecological momentary assessment study in adolescents.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2022Article
- Physical activity accumulation along the intensity spectrum differs between children and adults.European journal of applied physiology · 2021Article
- Calibration of the Online Youth Activity Profile Assessment for School-Based Applications.Journal for the measurement of physical behaviour · 2021Article
- Physical Activity Levels of 1053 Omani 4th Grade Children: The Importance of Gender and Sport Team Participation in Achieving 60 Minutes of Daily Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Associations of fitness, motor competence, and adiposity with the indicators of physical activity intensity during different physical activities in children.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior and Sleep Time:Association with Cardiovascular Hemodynamic Parameters, Blood Pressure and Structural and Functional Arterial Properties in Childhood.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2021Article
- Youth Metabolic Equivalents Differ Depending on Operational Definitions.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2020Article
- Validity of traditional physical activity intensity calibration methods and the feasibility of self-paced walking and running on individualised calibration of physical activity intensity in children.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeThe study compares MET-defined cutpoints used to classify sedentary behaviors in children using a simulated free-living design.
methodsA sample of 102 children (54 boys and 48 girls; 7-13 years) completed a set of 12 activities (randomly selected from a pool of 24 activities) in a random order. Activities were predetermined and ranged from sedentary to vigorous intensities. Participant's energy expenditure was measured using a portable indirect calorimetry system, Oxycon mobile. Measured minute-by-minute VO2 values (i.e., ml/kg/min) were converted to an adult- or child-MET value using the standard 3.5 ml/kg/min or the estimated child resting metabolic rate, respectively. Classification agreement was examined for both the "standard" (1.5 adult-METs) and an "adjusted" (2.0 adult-METs) MET-derived threshold for classifying sedentary behavior. Alternatively, we also tested the classification accuracy of a 1.5 child-MET threshold. Classification accuracy of sedentary activities was evaluated relative to the predetermined intensity categorization using receiver operator characteristic curves.
resultsThere were clear improvements in the classification accuracy for sedentary activities when a threshold of 2.0 adult-METs was used instead of 1.5 METs (Se1.5 METs = 4.7%, Sp1.5 METs = 100.0%; Se2.0 METs = 36.9%, Sp2.0 METs = 100.0 %). The use of child-METs while maintaining the 1.5 threshold also resulted in improvements in classification (Se = 45.1%, Sp = 100.0%).
conclusionAdult-MET thresholds are not appropriate for children when classifying sedentary activities. Classification accuracy for identifying sedentary activities was improved when either an adult-MET of 2.0 or a child-MET of 1.5 was used.
Indexed as
Identifiers
26271677What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.