Objectively measured 24-h movement behaviours of child-guardian pairs in low-to-middle income households in Nairobi City County, Kenya
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Date
2025
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Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Background: The decreasing prevalence of physical activity (PA) among urban children in Sub-Saharan Africa is a
growing public health concern. More emphasis should focus on examining the influence of parental PA behaviour
on the children’s PA patterns. We explored associations of 24 hour (h) accelerometer-measured movement behaviours of guardian-child pairs in Nairobi City County, Kenya.
Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed 80 pairs consisting of children aged 9–14 years and their guardians in
one area of low and one area of middle socioeconomic status (SES) (Embakasi Sub-County and Lang’ata SubCounty), in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study used waist worn Tri-axial Actigraph (GT3Xþ and
ActiSleepþ) accelerometers to quantify PA and sedentary time (SED). Association between guardians' and children’s PA was examined using linear regression, adjusting for guardians' educational attainment and household
wealth.
Results: Of the children, 42 (52.5%) and 76 (96.2%) of the guardians were women. Children in low SES areas
spent more time (p < 0.001) in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity compared to children from middle SES
area. The guardians in low SES area were younger and spent more time in light PA (p ¼ 0.036) while their
counterparts had higher daily SED (p ¼ 0.049). Guardian’s SED associated with higher children’s SED (p ¼ 0.033)
even after adjusting for guardians' educational attainment (p ¼ 0.032) and wealth (p ¼ 0.05). There was no
association between guardians' and children’s MVPA.
Conclusion: Considered alongside the extant literature, these results suggest that health promotion strategies
should aim to reduce parental SED time while also planning to increase children’s PA
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Citation
Wachira, Lucy-Joy, et al. "Objectively measured 24-hour movement behaviours of child-guardian pairs in low-to-middle income households in Nairobi City County, Kenya." Sports Medicine and Health Science (2025).