ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2022
Trajectories of physical activity and sedentary time in Norwegian children aged 3-9 years: a 5-year longitudinal study.
Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Active Scandinavia: examining physical activity levels across Norway, Sweden, and Denmark: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Longitudinal associations between preschoolers' 24-h movement behaviors and development of self-regulation, executive function, vocabulary, and numeracy.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of a Parent-Based eHealth Intervention on Physical Activity, Dietary Behaviors, and Sleep in Preschoolers: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Effects of a staff-led multicomponent physical activity intervention on preschooler's fundamental motor skills and physical fitness: The ACTNOW cluster-randomized controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Trial
- Associations between physical activity and physical fitness in preschool children: gender and age differences.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Bidirectional, prospective associations between physical activity, fundamental motor skills, and physical fitness in preschool children.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Differences in the activity intensity distribution over the day between boys and girls aged 3 to 17 years.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Profile of the PLAY spaces & environments for children's physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep (PLAYCE) cohort study, Western Australia.Journal of activity, sedentary and sleep behaviors · 2025Article
- Patterns of physical activity in hunter-gatherer children compared with US and UK children.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of a Parent-Based eHealth Intervention for Physical Activity, Dietary Behavior, and Sleep Among Preschoolers: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Developmental trends in young children's device-measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Article
- The Bidirectional Correlation between Fundamental Motor Skill and Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Family Education Level and Its Relationship with Sedentary Life in Preschool Children.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLimited evidence exists regarding the longitudinal development of physical activity during early to mid childhood. The aim of this study was to determine physical activity and sedentary time trajectories in children aged 3‒9 years from Western Norway.
methodsA sample of 294 children (51% boys; aged 3‒5 years at baseline) from the Sogn og Fjordane Preschool Physical Activity Study was followed annually over 5 years (2015‒2019). Physical activity was measured every autumn during this period using hip-based accelerometry (ActiGraph GT3X+). Data was processed as counts. We used linear mixed models to analyse the data. Primary analyses included trajectories for total and intensity-specific physical activity (light, moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous intensity) and sedentary time for boys and girls using 1-s epoch. Secondary analyses included trajectories for weekdays versus weekend days, preschool/school hours versus after school hours, and 1- versus 60-s epoch lengths.
resultsOver the total day, significant associations with age were found for boys and girls for all physical activity intensities and sedentary time (p < .001). Total physical activity peaked at age 5, whereas intensity-specific physical activity levels peaked at age 3 to 8 years (light intensity: 3-4 years; moderate intensity: 4-7 years; vigorous intensity: 7-8 years; moderate to vigorous intensity: 5-8 years). Boys had higher physical activity levels and more favourable trajectories than girls. Sedentary time increased from ages 3 to 9. Changes over time were larger for weekdays than for weekend days and larger for preschool/school hours than for after school hours. The use of a 60-s epoch resulted in larger changes over time than a 1-s epoch.
conclusionsOur findings suggest physical activity levels peaked between the ages of 3 and 8 years. Finding ways to prevent decline in physical activity during the transition from preschool to primary school is important, especially for girls. Standardising epoch length will help when comparing physical activity and sedentary behaviour across studies.
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