Grant: Project Grant

The early years (<5 years) is one of the most critical periods for lifelong development. Thus, international efforts have focused on ensuring optimal development at this age. Unfortunately, our understanding of child development is mainly informed by research from high-income countries and urban settings. Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep-collectively termed movement behaviours-have shown potential to benefit children's development. Recognizing the importance of movement behaviours, our group developed Canadian 24-hour movement behaviour guidelines for early years children. While individual movement behaviours are beneficial for children's lifelong development, little is known about the ideal distribution of all movement behaviours in a 24-hour day. This lack of information is particularly pronounced in rural settings and low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This proposal seeks to examine associations between movement behaviours and development in urban and rural children in: Brazil, Canada, India, and Malawi. Countries were selected to represent all World Bank income classifications (i.e., high:Canada, middle-high:Brazil, middle-low:India, and low-income:Malawi), different continents, and North-South hemispheres (i.e., North:Canada and India; South:Brazil and Malawi). Countries will each recruit 1,000 children aged 3-4 years, balanced by sex and rural-urban communities (500 each). Movement behaviours will be measured using motion trackers worn 24 hours/day for 5 days. Development will encompass physical (e.g., body fat, motor skills), cognitive (e.g., self-control, language skills), and social-emotional (e.g., behaviour problems, social skills) elements. Results will directly respond to calls for international surveillance of children's movement behaviours and development. Cross-cultural comparisons will lead to a richer understanding of the universal and culturally specific aspects of children's movement behaviours and development.