title: OBJECTIVELY MEASURED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SEDENTARY BEHAVIOUR PATTERNS IN CHILEAN PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  the negative effects of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour (SB) on children's health have been widely supported by evidence. However, evidence on how these behaviours are manifested in pre-school children is limited. The study aim was to evaluate objectively measured physical activity (PA) and SB patterns in Chilean pre-school children.
  
  
  METHODS
  twenty-five children (4.8 } 0.50 years, 48% male) completed ambulatory monitoring with an ActivPALTM micro accelerometer and inclinometer. Time spent while walking, standing and sitting/lying, as well as daily steps were measured and compared by day of the week (weekday/weekend) and time of day.
  
  
  RESULTS
  mean walking time was 147.2 } 52.23 minutes/ day. Mean time spent in SB was 468.3 } 92.22 min/day, with statistical differences between week and weekend days (484.8 minutes/day vs. 426.8 minutes/day, p = 0.03). 50% of total steps were accrued in accumulations of less than 100 steps/minute, while 50% of time spent in SB was accumulated in bouts of 35 seconds or less.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  pre-school children have intermittent PA and SB patterns. On weekdays children spent sitting longer than at weekends, therefore an opportunity exists for changing this behaviour during class time. This report on PA and SB patterns presents valuable information for designing and implementing strategies to enhance PA levels and decrease time spent in SB among pre-school children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education, Sports and Recreation, Universidad de La Frontera, Chile. School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia.. nicolas.aguilar@ufrontera.cl.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aguilar-Farias
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education, Sports and Recreation, Universidad de La Frontera, Chile.. nicolas.aguilar@ufrontera.cl.
authors.forename: Pía
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martino-Fuentealba
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education, Sports and Recreation, Universidad de La Frontera, Chile.. nicolas.aguilar@ufrontera.cl.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Espinoza-Silva
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology