Prevalence of Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Sleep, and Associations with Adiposity and Motor Development among Preschool-Age Children in Vietnam: The SUNRISE Vietnam Pilot Study

Objectives Global childhood obesity is of great concern. In 2019, the World Health Organization released global guidelines on movement behaviors for the children under 5 y of age to combat this epidemic. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of Vietnamese preschoolers meeting the guidelines, and examined whether guideline compliance is associated with adiposity and motor development. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 103 healthy preschoolers who were conveniently sampled from preschools in urban and rural areas around Ho Chi Minh city. Time spent in different intensities of physical activity and sedentary behavior was measured using Actigraph GT3X + accelerometers over three consecutive days. Sleep and screen time were obtained via parent questionnaires. Children were classified as meeting or not meeting the global guidelines. Height, weight, and motor skills were measured by the research staff. Regression models were applied to quantify the association between guideline compliance and adiposity and motor development, adjusting for age and sex. Results While 17.5% of children met all three guidelines, 5.8% met no guidelines. The prevalences of children who met guidelines for physical activity time, sleep duration, and screen time were 50.4%, 81.4%, and 44.7%, respectively. There was no association between guideline compliance and adiposity and motor development. Conclusion This study found a low proportion of children who met the global guidelines, whereas a high proportion of those with overweight and obesity was reported. Health programs should promote more physical activities of various intensities in young children.

Automated summary

This study investigated the prevalence of Vietnamese preschoolers meeting global guidelines on movement behaviors and found a low proportion of children meeting the guidelines, with no significant association between guideline compliance and adiposity and motor development.