Physical Activity and the Home Environment of Pre-School-Aged Children in Urban Bangladesh

Jessica C. Watterworth, Jill Korsiak, Farhana K. Keya, Kelly P. Arbour-Nicitopoulos, Abdullah Al Mahmud, Vivian Tam and Daniel E. Roth
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Jessica C. Watterworth: Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
Jill Korsiak: Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 2L3, Canada
Farhana K. Keya: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Kelly P. Arbour-Nicitopoulos: Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2W6, Canada
Abdullah Al Mahmud: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Vivian Tam: Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 2L3, Canada
Daniel E. Roth: Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Physical activity (PA) is a key determinant of health and development, yet few studies have examined PA levels and risk factors for low PA among young children in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to describe the PA and sedentary (SED) behavior levels of preschool-aged children in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and to estimate the associations between potential risk factors in the home built environment and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). In a sample of preschool-aged children ( n = 65) in Dhaka, PA and SED behavior were measured for 7 days using ActiGraph GT3X-BT accelerometers. Characteristics of the home built environment, socioeconomic factors, and anthropometry were also measured. Linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate multivariable-adjusted associations between characteristics of the home environment and MVPA. Preschool-aged children spent a mean (±standard deviation) 421 ± 48 and 82 ± 23 min per day sedentary and in MVPA, respectively. There were no statistically significant associations between factors in the home built environment (indoor area, presence of an open stairwell, and presence of gross motor activity facilitating items) and MVPA. These findings suggest that the studied characteristics of the home built environment may not significantly influence the MVPA observed among preschool-aged children in Dhaka. Future research should focus on other structural and behavioral factors that facilitate PA among young children in dense urban settings.

Keywords: accelerometry; Bangladesh; children; household equipment; physical activity; sedentary behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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