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Background To identify the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of different domains of physical activity (PA) and higher sitting time among South American adolescents. Methods Data from national surveys of 11 South American countries were analyzed, and comprised information on 166,901 adolescents. PA (≥ 60 min/day of moderate-vigorous PA), physical education classes (PEC) (≥ 3 classes/wk), active commuting to school (≥ 1 d/wk), and higher sitting time (≥ 3 h/d) were self-reported. Sociodemographic correlates, such as gender, age, and food security status were explored using a random effect meta-analysis for logistic parameters. Results Recommended PA ranged between 7.5% (Brazil) and 19.0% (Suriname). Peru (2.2%) and Guyana (43.1%) presented the lowest prevalence of PEC and active commuting to school, respectively. Higher sitting time was less prevalent in Bolivia (24.6%) and more prevalent in Argentina (55.6%). Compared to girls, boys were more prone to reach recommendations for PA [OR = 1.94(1.65;2.28)]; to reach ≥ 3 PEC [OR = 1.17(1.04;1.33)] and to be active in commuting to school [(OR = 1.14(1.06;1.23)], but less prone to higher sitting time [OR = 0.89(0.82;0.96)]. Older adolescents had less odds of reach PA guidelines [OR = 0.86(0.77; 0.97)] and accumulated higher sitting time [OR = 1.27(1.14;1.41)]. Adolescents with food insecurity reported more PEC [OR = 1.12(1.04;1.21)] and active commuting to school [OR = 1.12(1.02;1.22)] but had less higher sitting time than their food security pairs [OR = 0.89(0.81;0.98)]. Conclusions Few adolescents reach the PA recommendation. Actions aiming the promotion of PA and the reduction of sitting time must consider girls and older adolescents as target groups, as well as the specifics of each country.

Background/Objectives: Trajectories of fundamental movement skill (FMS) development start diverging in females and males in early childhood, with determinants of this divergence spanning from individual to social and environmental factors. The present cross-sectional study focuses on the role of free outdoor play and aims to investigate whether sex differences in FMS typically observed in early childhood are associated with participation in free outdoor play. Methods: One hundred and forty-two children aged 4.3 ± 0.8 yrs were evaluated for locomotor and object control skills (TGMD-3), weight status (BMI), and free outdoor play (parent-reported). Motor skill competence scores were submitted to moderated regression analyses to evaluate the individual and joint effects of sex, outdoor play, age, and BMI; interrelations among these variables were also estimated with network analysis. Results: Results of the moderated regression showed, beyond the expected prediction of motor skill competence (overall and object control skills) by sex and age, also a significant sex x outdoor play interaction, with higher motor skills being predicted by more frequent outdoor play in males only. The network analysis confirmed a positive association between outdoor play and motor skill competence in males but not in females. Conclusions: Males might capitalize on free outdoor play opportunities as early as preschool age to engage in activities that promote their motor and especially object control skill development. Longitudinal studies are needed to test causality and derive practical indications for enabling both males and females to fully exploit the opportunities provided by free outdoor play to exercise both locomotor and object control skills.

Compositional Data Analysis (CoDA) is a powerful statistical approach for analyzing 24 h time-use data, effectively addressing the interdependence of sleep, sedentary behavior, and physical activity. Unlike traditional methods that struggle with perfect multicollinearity, CoDA handles time use as proportions of a whole, providing biologically meaningful insights into how daily activity patterns relate to health. Applications in epidemiology have linked variations in time allocation between behaviors to key health outcomes, including adiposity, cardiometabolic health, cognitive function, fitness, quality of life, glycomics, clinical psychometrics, and mental well-being. Research consistently shows that reallocating time from sedentary behavior to sleep or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) improves health outcomes. Importantly, CoDA reveals that optimal activity patterns vary across populations, supporting the need for personalized, context-specific recommendations rather than one-size-fits-all guidelines. By overcoming challenges in implementation and interpretation, CoDA has the potential to transform healthcare analytics and deepen our understanding of lifestyle behaviors’ impact on health.

The present study aimed to analyze the compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines and its association with fundamental motor skills (FMS) in early childhood, considering sex and Body Mass Index (BMI) in a network perspective. Two hundred and twelve preschoolers (109 boys, 4.45 ± 0.78 years old) provided physical activity (PA), sleep duration, screen time, fundamental motor skills (FMS) and BMI data. Relationships between compliance with movement behaviors guidelines, FMS, sex and BMI were calculated using a network analysis. Only two percent of the entire sample complied with the overall 24-h movement behaviors recommendations; while the emerged network in the present study emphasized ball skills as the most critical centrality variable, according to age, reinforcing the importance of ball skills for the engagement and maintenance of PA in children. The present study presents a novel statistical and theoretical perspective that permits hitherto unseen insight into the associations between movement behavior, FMS and their correlates, that appropriately consider the inherent, multifaceted, complexity of these relationships.

IntroductionThe MOVE-AIR study was designed to explore the moderating role of movement behaviours on the association between air pollutants and health outcomes in Portuguese children. Secondarily, it aims to characterise the settings (both indoor and outdoor) where children are exposed to air pollutants and to co-create solutions with participants to mitigate the exposure to air pollutants in children’s daily life. This study aims to describe the MOVE-AIR study protocol in detail.Methods and analysisData from 52 primary school children aged 9–11 years will be assessed for indoor and outdoor air pollutants (particulate matter (PM)2.5 and PM10, and carbon dioxide), geo-tracked for distinct settings (ie, home/school, indoor/outdoor) along the day, through an optical monitoring sensor with Global Positioning System incorporated. Health-related biological outcomes, such as interleukin-6, tumour necrosis factor alpha and oxidative parameters, including total antioxidant status and total oxidant status, will be evaluated and the Oxidative Stress Index will be calculated. Children’s cardiopulmonary fitness will be assessed through the shuttle run test, and movement behaviours will be evaluated through accelerometers (wGT3X). Children’s sex, age and parental socioeconomic status will be provided by parents through a questionnaire. The influence of movement behaviours in the link between pollution and health will be analysed through moderating regression models using process for SPSS R software (V.30.0.0). A subsample of class teachers, school leaders, parents and children will be invited to a co-creation process to create solutions to mitigate their daily exposure to air pollutants. The results will contribute to further understanding the moderating role of movement behaviours in the association between air pollution and health, adding a biological layer to the mechanistic links underlying these potential relationships that have not been explored in this target population. Finally, enhancing our comprehension of the living environments and contexts where children are more exposed to air pollution can help to cooperatively create solutions to mitigate their daily exposure to those harmful pollutants.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Sports from the University of Porto (CEFADE 32–2023), and the study complies with the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation under the supervision of the Data Protection Office of the Institute of Public Health, University of Porto (ISPUP).

The objective of this study is to analyze the association between combinations of adherence to movement behaviour recommendations and fundamental movement skills (FMS) in preschoolers. This is a cross-sectional study. Participants of the study were 212 preschool children (M = 3.97 years old; 51.4% male), who provided objectively assessed physical activity (PA) data (Actigraph wGT3X), and completed FMS assessments (TGMD-2). Sleep time and screen time were parent-reported through face-to-face interview. Associations between the combination of two or three movement behaviours and FMS were analyzed using structural equation modeling (Mplus; 8.0; p < 0.05). Positive and significant associations were found between adherence to screen + sleep recommendations and locomotor skills (β = 0.23; p = 0.027); and between adherence to PA + screen + sleep recommendations with object control skills (β = 0.28; p = 0.014). Negative and significant associations were found between screen + sleep with object control skills (β = − 0.28; p = 0.007). The adherence to the 24-h movement behaviour recommendations explained locomotor and object control skills variability by 5% and 7%, respectively.Conclusion: The adherence to the combined movement behaviour recommendations may be a more important influence on FMS in preschoolers compared to any single movement behaviour in isolation.What is Known:• The association between the isolated adherence to movement behaviour (physical activity, screen time and sleep time) recommendations and fundamental movement skills (FMS) in preschoolers, and the role of the 24-h movement behaviours on FMS, has been previously reported.What is New:• This study adds important information to the current literature, when highlighting that the combined adherence to physical activity, screen time and sleep time recommendations is positively associated with object control skills (such as throwing and kicking), and the combination of screen time and sleep is positively associated with locomotor skills (such as running and hopping).

This study identifies physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) clusters in preschoolers compliant (C) or non-compliant (NC) with sleep recommendations; and associates these clusters with obesity markers. PA and SB were objectively assessed (Actigraph WGT3-X) in 272 preschoolers (4.4 ± 0.7 years old). Sleep duration was parent-reported, and preschoolers were classified as C (3–4 years old: 600–780 min/day; 5 years old: 540–660 min/day) or NC with sleep recommendations. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were assessed according to international protocols. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and light physical activity (LPA) were categorized as low/high (<60 min/>60 min/day or <180 min/180 min/day, respectively). SB was defined according to mean values between clusters. Latent profile analysis was performed. Associations between the observed clusters and obesity markers were determined using linear regression (RStudio; 1.3.1073). Four cluster solutions for C and NC preschoolers were identified. A negative association between C/Low MVPA cluster and BMI, and a positive association between NC/Low MVPA and BMI (β = −0.8, 95%CI = −1.6;−0.1, and β = 0.9, 95%CI = 0.1;1.7, respectively) were observed. No association was seen for SB clusters. Adequate sleep duration may have a protective role for preschoolers’ BMI, even if the children do not comply with MVPA recommendations.

Background The cut-off date in the education system causes a relative age difference, with developmental advantages for children who are born on the “early side” of the cut-off date and disadvantages for those born later, which is known as the relative age effect (RAE). Very few studies have examined whether there is a RAE on the development of fundamental movement skills (FMSs) in preschool children, and no studies have been conducted in China. The purpose of this study is to identify whether a RAE exists on FMS in Chinese preschool children, comparing RAEs according to gender and age. Methods From a total of 378 invited preschool children regularly registered at one Chinese kindergarten, a total of 288 healthy and typically developing preschoolers (4.33 ± 0.84 years-old; 56.6% boys) were included in this study. All children were required to take part in anthropometry and FMS assessments. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied to examine the difference in each of the FMS items across quarter categories, year and gender groups, controlling for body mass index (BMI). Results For the overall sample, the data show the significant main effects on the quarter of birth factor in locomotor skills (LC; F (3, 265) = 2.811, p  = 0.04, η p 2  = 0.031), object control skills (OB; F (3, 265) = 6.319, p  = 0.04, η p 2  = 0.031), and total test score (TTS; F (3, 265) = 5.988, p  = 0.001, η p 2  = 0.063). There were also significant differences in the age effect on all the domains of FMS ( F LC (2, 265) = 100.654, p  < 0.001, η p 2  = 0.432; F OB (2, 265) = 108.430, p  < 0.001, η p 2  = 0.450; F TTS (2, 265) = 147.234, p  < 0.001, η p 2  = 0.526) but a gender effect only in LC ( F (1, 265) = 20.858; p  < 0.001; η p 2  = 0.073). For gender and quarter of birth groups, RAEs in LC only exists in girls. Moreover, regarding age and quarter of birth factors, RAEs are only found at younger ages. Conclusions This study suggests the existence of RAEs in the FMS of Chinese preschool children. Teachers need to be aware of the effect of RAEs on the FMS when approaching development, evaluation, and teaching approaches in preschools.

Background: The development of motor competence (MC) during childhood is crucial for future physical activity and health outcomes, and it is affected by both biological and psychosocial factors. Most MC research has focused on children’s age, with fewer studies examining separate associations between MC and biological maturation. Methods: This cross-sectional study used network analysis to assess the nonlinear associations between biological maturation (the child’s percentage of predicted mature stature to indicate somatic maturation), chronological age, sex, BMI, and MC (Test of Gross Motor Development, third edition) in 218 children (100 boys, 118 girls) aged 7–9 years. Results: Biological maturation was not significantly associated with MC in boys and weakly associated with MC in girls for the dribble, under-hand throw, and gallop. Age was positively associated with MC in girls and boys. Centrality measures indicated that the gallop and slide in girls and the dribble, catch, and run in boys were the most important network variables. Positive associations were observed between maturation and BMI for girls (r = 0.579) and, to a lesser degree, for boys (r = 0.267). Conclusions: The findings suggest that age, rather than biological maturation, is positively associated with MC in 7- to 9-year-olds. Centrality measures showed that some skills may influence other skills.