Arto Laukkanen

Relationship between habitual physical activity and gross motor skills is multifaceted in 5- to 8-year-old children

Adequate motor skills are essential for children participating in age‐related physical activities, and gross motor skills may play an important role for maintaining sufficient level of physical activity (PA) during life course. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between gross motor skills and PA in children when PA was analyzed by both metabolic‐ and neuromuscular‐based methods. Gross motor skills (KTK – Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder and APM inventory – manipulative skill test) of 84 children aged 5–8 years (53 preschoolers, 28 girls; 31 primary schoolers, 18 girls) were measured, and accelerometer‐derived PA was analyzed using in parallel metabolic counts and neuromuscular impact methods. The gross motor skills were associated with moderate‐to‐high neuromuscular impacts, PA of vigorous metabolic intensity, and mean level of PA in primary school girls (0.5 < r < 0.7, P < 0.05), and with high impacts in preschool girls (0.3 < r < 0.5, P < 0.05). In preschool boys, moderate impacts, light‐to‐vigorous PA, and mean level of PA were associated with gross motor skills (0.4 < r < 0.7, P < 0.05). In conclusion, the result emphasizes an important relationship between gross motor skills and PA stressing both metabolic and neuromuscular systems in children. Furthermore, PA highly stressing neuromuscular system interacts with gross motor proficiency in girls especially.

A family based tailored counselling to increase non-exercise physical activity in adults with a sedentary job and physical activity in their young children: Design and methods of a year-long randomized controlled trial

BackgroundEpidemiological evidence suggests that decrease in sedentary behaviour is beneficial for health. This family based randomized controlled trial examines whether face-to-face delivered counselling is effective in reducing sedentary time and improving health in adults and increasing moderate-to-vigorous activities in children.MethodsThe families are randomized after balancing socioeconomic and environmental factors in the Jyväskylä region, Finland. Inclusion criteria are: healthy men and women with children 3-8 years old, and having an occupation where they self-reportedly sit more than 50% of their work time and children in all-day day-care in kindergarten or in the first grade in primary school. Exclusion criteria are: body mass index > 35 kg/m2, self-reported chronic, long-term diseases, families with pregnant mother at baseline and children with disorders delaying motor development.From both adults and children accelerometer data is collected five times a year in one week periods. In addition, fasting blood samples for whole blood count and serum metabonomics, and diurnal heart rate variability for 3 days are assessed at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months follow-up from adults. Quadriceps and hamstring muscle activities providing detailed information on muscle inactivity will be used to realize the maximum potential effect of the intervention. Fundamental motor skills from children and body composition from adults will be measured at baseline, and at 6 and 12 months follow-up. Questionnaires of family-influence-model, health and physical activity, and dietary records are assessed. After the baseline measurements the intervention group will receive tailored counselling targeted to decrease sitting time by focusing on commute and work time. The counselling regarding leisure time is especially targeted to encourage toward family physical activities such as visiting playgrounds and non-built environments, where children can get diversified stimulation for play and practice fundamental of motor skills. The counselling will be reinforced during the first 6 months followed by a 6-month maintenance period.DiscussionIf shown to be effective, this unique family based intervention to improve lifestyle behaviours in both adults and children can provide translational model for community use. This study can also provide knowledge whether the lifestyle changes are transformed into relevant biomarkers and self-reported health.Trial registration numberISRCTN: ISRCTN28668090

Muscle inactivity is adversely associated with biomarkers in physically active adults.

PURPOSE While the lack of muscular activity is a proposed trigger for metabolic alterations, this association has not been directly measured. We examined the associations between EMG-derived muscle inactivity and activity patterns and cardiometabolic biomarkers in healthy, physically active adults. METHODS Data for this cross-sectional study were pooled from two studies (EMG24 and InPact), resulting in a sample of 150 individuals without known chronic diseases and with high-quality EMG data (female n = 85, male n = 65, age = 38.8 ± 10.6 yr, body mass index = 23.8 ± 3.1 kg·m⁻²). EMG was measured during one to three typical weekdays using EMG shorts, measuring quadriceps and hamstring muscle EMG. Muscle inactivity time and moderate- to vigorous-intensity muscle activity were defined as EMG amplitude below that of standing still and above that of walking 5 km·h⁻¹, respectively. Blood pressure index, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides were measured, and long-term exercise behaviors were assessed by questionnaire. RESULTS In a group of physically active participants, muscles were inactive for 65.2% ± 12.9% of the measurement time in an average of 24.1 ± 9.8-s periods. Compared to those in the lowest muscle inactivity quartile (<55.5% of measurement time), those in the highest quartile (≥74.8% of measurement time) had 0.32 mmol·L⁻¹ lower HDL cholesterol (P < 0.05) and 0.30 mM higher triglycerides (P < 0.05) independent of muscles moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity. CONCLUSIONS Clinically significant differences in HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were found, favoring participants having low muscle inactivity time, independent of moderate- to vigorous-intensity muscle activity. Even physically active individuals may benefit from light-intensity activities that reduce ubiquitous muscle inactivity time.

Muscle inactivity and activity patterns after sedentary time--targeted randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE Interventions targeting sedentary time are needed. We used detailed EMG recordings to study the short-term effectiveness of simple sedentary time-targeted tailored counseling on the total physical activity spectrum. METHODS This cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted between 2011 and 2013 (InPact, ISRCTN28668090), and short-term effectiveness of counseling is reported in the present study. A total of 133 office workers volunteered to participate, from which muscle activity data were analyzed from 48 (intervention, n = 24; control, n = 24). After a lecture, face-to-face tailored counseling was used to set contractually binding goals regarding breaking up sitting periods and increasing family based physical activity. Primary outcome measures were assessed 11.8 ± 1.1 h before and a maximum of 2 wk after counseling including quadriceps and hamstring muscle inactivity time, sum of the five longest muscle inactivity periods, and light muscle activity time during work, commute, and leisure time. RESULTS Compared with those in the controls, counseling decreased the intervention groups muscle inactivity time by 32.6 ± 71.8 min from 69.1% ± 8.5% to 64.6% ± 10.9% (whole day, P < 0.05; work, P < 0.05; leisure, P < 0.05) and the sum of the five longest inactivity periods from 35.6 ± 14.8 to 29.7 ± 10.1 min (whole day, P < 0.05; leisure, P < 0.01). Concomitantly, light muscle activity time increased by 20.6 ± 52.6 min, from 22.2% ± 7.9% to 25.0% ± 9.7% (whole day, P < 0.05; work, P < 0.01; leisure, P < 0.05), and during work time, average EMG amplitude (percentage of EMG during maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC) (%EMG MVC)) increased from 1.6% ± 0.9% to 1.8% ± 1.0% (P < 0.05) in the intervention group compared with that in the controls. CONCLUSIONS A simple tailored counseling was able to reduce muscle inactivity time by 33 min, which was reallocated to 21 min of light muscle activity. During work time, average EMG amplitude increased by 13%, reaching an average of 1.8% of EMG MVC. If maintained, this observed short-term effect may have health-benefiting consequences.

Family-Based Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial Enhancing Physical Activity and Motor Competence in 4–7-Year-Old Children

Little is known of how to involve families in physical activity (PA) interventions for children. In this cluster randomized controlled trial, we recruited families with four- to seven-year-old children to participate in a year-long study where parents in the intervention group families (n = 46) received tailored counseling to increase children’s PA. Structured PA was not served. Control group families (n = 45) did not receive any counseling. PA in all children (n = 91; mean age 6.16 ± 1.13 years at the baseline) was measured by accelerometers at the baseline and after three, six, nine and 12 months. Motor competence (MC) (n = 89) was measured at the baseline and after six and 12 months by a KTK (KörperkoordinationsTest für Kinder) and throwing and catching a ball (TCB) protocols. The effect of parental counseling on study outcomes was analyzed by a linear mixed-effects model fit by REML and by a Mann-Whitney U test in the case of the TCB. As season was hypothesized to affect counseling effect, an interaction of season on the study outcomes was examined. The results show significant decrease of MVPA in the intervention group when compared to the control group (p < .05). The TCB showed a nearly significant improvement at six months in the intervention group compared to the controls (p = .051), but not at 12 months. The intervention group had a steadier development of the KTK when the interaction of season was taken into account. In conclusion, more knowledge of family constructs associating with the effectiveness of counseling is needed for understanding how to enhance PA in children by parents. However, a hypothesis may be put forward that family-based counseling during an inactive season rather than an active season may provide a more lasting effect on the development of KTK in children. Trial Registration Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN28668090

Parental Support and Objectively Measured Physical Activity in Children: A Yearlong Cluster-Randomized Controlled Efficacy Trial

ABSTRACT Purpose: We studied whether physical activity (PA) counseling for parents influenced the level of parental support of children’s PA and leisure-time PA in children of different levels of initial parental support. We hypothesized that the initial level of parental support would moderate the intervention efficacy. Method: Children (n = 44, Mage = 6.09 ± 1.17 years) and their parents (n = 61) randomly assigned to an intervention group received counseling for 6 months. Children in the control group (n = 47, Mage = 6.12 ± 1.11 years) and their parents (n = 63) did not receive any counseling. Parental support was assessed using the Family Physical Activity Environment Questionnaire, and children’s leisure-time PA was recorded using triaxial accelerometers at baseline, at 6 months, and at 12 months. The efficacy of the intervention was tested by linear mixed-effects modeling adjusted for confounding variables (Model 1) and additionally for children’s participation in organized PA or sports (Model 2). Results: Parents within the lowest initial parental support intervention tertile significantly increased their support, and their children’s mean level of leisure-time PA significantly improved compared with the corresponding controls during the counseling period. On the other hand, intervention was found to have an unfavorable influence especially in the PA of children of initially highly supportive parents. Conclusion: Targeting PA counseling for parents with low support of their children’s PA could contribute to better family-based PA counseling efficacy.

Children’s physical activity and sedentary time compared using assessments of accelerometry counts and muscle activity level

Background This research compared accelerometry (ACC)-derived and muscle electromyography (EMG)-based estimates of physical activity (PA) and sedentary time in typical PA tasks and during the daily lives of children. Methods Data was included from two exploratory studies. In Study I, 6–7-year-old children (n = 11, 64% girls) were assessed for eight PA tasks (walking, stair negotiation, climbing, crawling, swinging, balancing, trampoline jumping and a game of tag). In Study II, 7–9-year-old children (n = 14, 38% girls) were assessed for six PA tasks (walking, sitting, static squat, single leg hops, jump for height and standing long jump), and daily PA during one day with and one day without structured exercise. Quadriceps and hamstring muscle activity and inactivity using EMG shorts and acceleration by waist-mounted accelerometer were simultaneously measured and classified as sedentary, light, moderate and vigorous activity. Data from ACC was further analyzed using five different published cut-off points and varying time windows (1−60 s) for comparison with EMG. Results In the PA tasks ACC counts and EMG amplitude showed marked differences in swinging, trampoline jumping, crawling, static squat, single leg hops, standing long jump and jump for height, the difference being over 170% when signals were normalized to that during walking. Furthermore, in walking, swinging, trampoline jumping, stair negotiation and crawling ACC classified over 60% of the time as vigorous-intensity activity, while EMG indicated primarily light- and moderate-intensity activities. During both days with and without exercise, ACC resulted in greater proportion of light activity (p < 0.01) and smaller proportion of moderate activity compared to EMG (p < 0.05). The choice of cut-off points and epoch length in ACC analysis influenced the classification of PA level and sedentary time. In the analysis of daily activities the cut-off points by Evenson et al. (2008) with epochs of 7.5 s and 15 s yielded the smallest difference (less than 10% of recording time at each intensity) against EMG-derived PA levels. Discussion This research provides novel insight on muscle activity and thereby on neuromuscular loading of major locomotor muscles during normal daily activities of children. While EMG and ACC provided similar estimates of sedentary time in 13 typical PA tasks, duration of light, moderate and vigorous PA varied considerably between the methods especially during walking, stair negotiation, crawling, swinging and trampoline jumping. Evenson et al.’s (2008) cut-off points with ≤15 s epoch provided similar classification of PA than EMG during daily life. Compared to impacts recorded using ACC, EMG can provide understanding on children’s neuromuscular loading during motor tasks that is useful when studying effects of PA interventions on, and development of, motor competence and coordination.

Body mass index in the early years in relation to motor coordination at the age of 5–7 years

Physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI) are consistently associated with motor coordination (MC) in children. However, we know very little how BMI in early childhood associates with MC later in childhood. This study investigated associations between BMI in early childhood and BMI, PA, and MC in middle childhood. Children aged 5 to 7 years (n = 64, 32 girls) were measured for MC using Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) and for moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) using triaxial accelerometers. Prevailing body weight and height were measured, and information on weight and height in early years was based on parental report of child health care report cards. Age-adjusted BMIz scores were calculated on the basis of international growth curve references. Associations and the explained variability of MC were investigated by Pearson correlations and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Age and MVPA were found to be significantly associated with MC at middle childhood, in general. BMIz at middle childhood and at ages 4 and 5 years inversely explained 12% (p < 0.05), 6% (p > 0.05), and 7% (p > 0.05) of the variation in MC in girls after adjusting for covariates, respectively. In boys, BMIz scores did not show any trend of association with MC. This study suggests sex-specific mechanisms in the interplay between BMI and motor development in childhood.

Accelerometer-assessed sedentary work, leisure time and cardio-metabolic biomarkers during one year : Effectiveness of a cluster randomized controlled trial in parents with a sedentary occupation and young children

Background It is unknown whether reducing sedentary time at work and during leisure time is possible and effective during one year. Methods Office workers with young children were recruited for this one-year cluster-randomized controlled trial through kindergartens and primary schools from 7 clusters in the city of Jyväskylä, Finland. After a lecture, face-to-face tailored counseling was used to set contractually binding goals regarding reducing and breaking up sitting periods and increasing light intensity physical activity during work and leisure time. Primary outcomes of total, work and leisure sedentary time (<100 counts/min, cpm), light activity time (<2020 cpm), moderate-to-vigorous activity time (MVPA) and breaks/sedentary hour were assessed with a waist-worn Alive -accelerometer for 7 days, 5 times during the year. Anthropometrics (DXA), fasting biomarkers and self-reported diet were assessed as secondary outcomes. Data were collected between 2011–2013 and analyzed between 2013–2016 with a linear mixed-effects model fit by REML using likelihood ratio test and intention-to-treat–principle. Results Participants from intervention (N = 71) and control (N = 62) regions were assessed at baseline and 117 completed the study. Sedentary leisure time decreased [-21.2 (95% CI -37.3 to -5.1) min/8 hours, likelihood ratio P<0.001] and light activity time [13.4 (-2.2 to 29.0) min/8 hours, P = 0.008] and breaks per sedentary hour [1.0 (-0.2 to 2.2), P = 0.010] increased in the intervention group as compared to controls at 3 months. The decrease in sedentary leisure time was maintained throughout the year [-7.9 (-24.0 to 8.3) min/8 hours, P = 0.029]. Small decreases in the control group’s work and leisure MVPA were observed mostly at 3 months. Small favorable intervention effects were observed for fasting plasma glucose at 3 months and for leg lean mass and apoB/apoA-1 ratio at 12 months, with no changes in other outcomes. Conclusions Behavioral counseling induced a small decline in sedentary leisure time throughout one year in parents with a sedentary occupation and young children. Small concurrent changes in different biomarkers suggest that reducing sedentary leisure time during one year may be beneficial. Trial registration ISRCTN28668090, registered 30 November 2011