ArticleJMIR pediatrics and parenting2022
A Web-Based, Time-Use App To Assess Children's Movement Behaviors: Validation Study of My E-Diary for Activities and Lifestyle (MEDAL).
Article in JMIR pediatrics and parenting, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Feasibility of a theory-based multicomponent intervention to improve diet and activity behaviours among primary school children: a pilot study.Nutrition journal · 2026Article
- Lifestyle patterns and their associations with overweight and obesity among children aged 4-9 years in the United Arab Emirates.The British journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Development and content validity of an application to assess 24-hour movement behaviors in 0-4-year-old children involving end-users and key stakeholders: the My Little Moves app.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Article
- Cross-sectional and prospective associations between children's 24-h time use and their health-related quality of life: a compositional isotemporal substitution approach.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
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9 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundExisting modes of collecting self-reported 24-hour movement information from children, including digital assessments, have not been demonstrated to be of acceptable validity when compared to objective measurements. My E-Diary for Activities and Lifestyle (MEDAL) is an interactive web-based diary developed to collect time-use information from children aged 10 years and older.
objectiveThis study evaluated the validity of MEDAL for assessing children's movement behaviors by comparing self-reported and accelerometer-measured time spent in movement behavior among children in Singapore aged 10-11 years.
methodsFunding for this study was obtained in October 2017, and data were collected between April and August 2020. Participants recorded their daily activities using MEDAL over 2 specified weekdays and 2 weekend days and wore an Actigraph accelerometer on their nondominant wrist throughout the study to objectively assess movement behaviors. Spearman correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to compare the accelerometer measurements and self-reports for each movement behavior. Bland-Altman plots were generated to investigate trends of bias in the self-reports.
resultsAmong the participants aged 10-11 years (29/49, 59% boys), we observed that children reported lower light physical activity (LPA) and higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), inactivity, and night sleep than that measured by the accelerometer. There was a moderate-to-strong correlation between self-reported and accelerometer-measured MVPA (r=0.37; 95% CI 0.20-0.54), inactivity (r=0.36; 95% CI 0.18-0.54), and night sleep (r=0.58; 95% CI 0.43-0.74); the correlation for LPA was poor (r=0.19; 95% CI 0.02-0.36). Agreement was poor for all behaviors (MVPA: ICC=0.24, 95% CI 0.07-0.40; LPA: ICC=0.19, 95% CI 0.01-0.36; inactivity: ICC=0.29, 95% CI 0.11-0.44; night sleep: ICC=0.45, 95% CI 0.29-0.58). There was stronger correlation and agreement on weekdays for inactivity and night sleep; conversely, there was stronger correlation and agreement for MVPA and LPA on weekend days. Finally, based on Bland-Altman plots, we observed that with increasing MVPA, children tended to report higher MVPA than that measured by the accelerometer. There were no clear trends for the other behaviors.
conclusionsMEDAL may be used to assess the movement behaviors of children. Based on self-reports, the children are able to estimate their time spent in MVPA, inactivity, and night sleep although actual time spent in these behaviors may differ from accelerometer-derived estimates; self-reported LPA warrant cautious interpretation. Observable differences in reporting accuracy exist between weekdays and weekend days.
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