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1. Seasons, weather, and device-measured movement behaviors: a scoping review from 2006 to 2020

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01091-1  

   Turrisi, Taylor B.; Bittel, Kelsey M.; West, Ashley B.; Hojjatinia, Sarah; Hojjatinia, Sahar; Mama, Scherezade K.; Lagoa, Constantino M.; Conroy, David E. (December 2021, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Background This scoping review summarized research on (a) seasonal differences in physical activity and sedentary behavior, and (b) specific weather indices associated with those behaviors. Methods PubMed, CINAHL, and SPORTDiscus were searched to identify relevant studies. After identifying and screening 1459 articles, data were extracted from 110 articles with 118,189 participants from 30 countries (almost exclusively high-income countries) on five continents. Results Both physical activity volume and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were greater in summer than winter. Sedentary behavior was greater in winter than either spring or summer, and insufficient evidence existed to draw conclusions about seasonal differences in light physical activity. Physical activity volume and MVPA duration were positively associated with both the photoperiod and temperature, and negatively associated with precipitation. Sedentary behavior was negatively associated with photoperiod and positively associated with precipitation. Insufficient evidence existed to draw conclusions about light physical activity and specific weather indices. Many weather indices have been neglected in this literature (e.g., air quality, barometric pressure, cloud coverage, humidity, snow, visibility, windchill). Conclusions The natural environment can influence health by facilitating or inhibiting physical activity. Behavioral interventions should be sensitive to potential weather impacts. Extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change may compromise health-enhancing physical activity in the short term and, over longer periods of time, stimulate human migration in search of more suitable environmental niches. 

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2. Influence of a Socially Assistive Robot on Physical Activity, Social Play Behavior, and Toy-Use Behaviors of Children in a Free Play Environment: A Within-Subjects Study

   https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2021.768642  

   Raja Vora, Joseline; Helmi, Ameer; Zhan, Christine; Olivares, Eliora; Vu, Tina; Wilkey, Marie; Noregaard, Samantha; Fitter, Naomi T.; Logan, Samuel W. (November 2021, Frontiers in Robotics and AI)

   Background: Play is critical for children’s physical, cognitive, and social development. Technology-based toys like robots are especially of interest to children. This pilot study explores the affordances of the play area provided by developmentally appropriate toys and a mobile socially assistive robot (SAR). The objective of this study is to assess the role of the SAR on physical activity, play behavior, and toy-use behavior of children during free play. Methods: Six children (5 females, M age = 3.6 ± 1.9 years) participated in the majority of our pilot study’s seven 30-minute-long weekly play sessions (4 baseline and 3 intervention). During baseline sessions, the SAR was powered off. During intervention sessions, the SAR was teleoperated to move in the play area and offered rewards of lights, sounds, and bubbles to children. Thirty-minute videos of the play sessions were annotated using a momentary time sampling observation system. Mean percentage of time spent in behaviors of interest in baseline and intervention sessions were calculated. Paired-Wilcoxon signed rank tests were conducted to assess differences between baseline and intervention sessions. Results: There was a significant increase in children’s standing (∼15%; Z = −2.09; p = 0.037) and a tendency for less time sitting (∼19%; Z = −1.89; p = 0.059) in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. There was also a significant decrease (∼4.5%, Z = −2.70; p = 0.007) in peer interaction play and a tendency for greater (∼4.5%, Z = −1.89; p = 0.059) interaction with adults in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. There was a significant increase in children’s interaction with the robot (∼11.5%, Z = −2.52; p = 0.012) in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. Conclusion: These results may indicate that a mobile SAR provides affordances through rewards that elicit children’s interaction with the SAR and more time standing in free play. This pilot study lays a foundation for exploring the role of SARs in inclusive play environments for children with and without mobility disabilities in real-world settings like day-care centers and preschools. 

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3. Pre- Versus Postmeal Sedentary Duration—Impact on Postprandial Glucose in Older Adults With Overweight or Obesity

   https://doi.org/10.1123/jmpb.2023-0032  

   Chun, Elizabeth; Gaynanova, Irina; Melanson, Edward L.; Lyden, Kate (January 2024, Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour)

   Introduction: Reducing sedentary time is associated with improved postprandial glucose regulation. However, it is not known if the timing of sedentary behavior (i.e., pre- vs. postmeal) differentially impacts postprandial glucose in older adults with overweight or obesity.Methods: In this secondary analysis, older adults (≥65 years) with overweight and obesity (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m²) wore a continuous glucose monitor and a sedentary behavior monitor continuously in their real-world environments for four consecutive days on four separate occasions. Throughout each 4-day measurement period, participants followed a standardized eucaloric diet and recorded mealtimes in a diary. Glucose, sedentary behavior, and meal intake data were fused using sensor and diary timestamps. Mixed-effect linear regression models were used to evaluate the impact of sedentary timing relative to meal intake.Results: Premeal sedentary time was significantly associated with both the increase from premeal glucose to the postmeal peak (ΔG) and the percent of premeal glucose increase that was recovered 1-hr postmeal glucose peak (%Baseline Recovery;p < .05), with higher levels of premeal sedentary time leading to both a larger ΔGand a smaller %Baseline Recovery. Postmeal sedentary time was significantly associated with the time from meal intake to glucose peak (ΔT;p < .05), with higher levels of postmeal sedentary time leading to a longer time to peak.Conclusions: Pre- versus postmeal sedentary behavior differentially impacts postprandial glucose response in older adults with overweight or obesity, suggesting that the timing of sedentary behavior reductions might play an influential role on long-term glycemic control. 

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4. CHAP-child: an open source method for estimating sit-to-stand transitions and sedentary bout patterns from hip accelerometers among children

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-022-01349-2  

   Carlson, Jordan A.; Ridgers, Nicola D.; Nakandala, Supun; Zablocki, Rong; Tuz-Zahra, Fatima; Bellettiere, John; Hibbing, Paul R.; Steel, Chelsea; Jankowska, Marta M.; Rosenberg, Dori E.; et al (December 2022, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity)

   Abstract Background Hip-worn accelerometer cut-points have poor validity for assessing children’s sedentary time, which may partly explain the equivocal health associations shown in prior research. Improved processing/classification methods for these monitors would enrich the evidence base and inform the development of more effective public health guidelines. The present study aimed to develop and evaluate a novel computational method (CHAP-child) for classifying sedentary time from hip-worn accelerometer data. Methods Participants were 278, 8–11-year-olds recruited from nine primary schools in Melbourne, Australia with differing socioeconomic status. Participants concurrently wore a thigh-worn activPAL (ground truth) and hip-worn ActiGraph (test measure) during up to 4 seasonal assessment periods, each lasting up to 8 days. activPAL data were used to train and evaluate the CHAP-child deep learning model to classify each 10-s epoch of raw ActiGraph acceleration data as sitting or non-sitting, creating comparable information from the two monitors. CHAP-child was evaluated alongside the current practice 100 counts per minute (cpm) method for hip-worn ActiGraph monitors. Performance was tested for each 10-s epoch and for participant-season level sedentary time and bout variables (e.g., mean bout duration). Results Across participant-seasons, CHAP-child correctly classified each epoch as sitting or non-sitting relative to activPAL, with mean balanced accuracy of 87.6% (SD = 5.3%). Sit-to-stand transitions were correctly classified with mean sensitivity of 76.3% (SD = 8.3). For most participant-season level variables, CHAP-child estimates were within ± 11% (mean absolute percent error [MAPE]) of activPAL, and correlations between CHAP-child and activPAL were generally very large (> 0.80). For the current practice 100 cpm method, most MAPEs were greater than ± 30% and most correlations were small or moderate (≤ 0.60) relative to activPAL. Conclusions There was strong support for the concurrent validity of the CHAP-child classification method, which allows researchers to derive activPAL-equivalent measures of sedentary time, sit-to-stand transitions, and sedentary bout patterns from hip-worn triaxial ActiGraph data. Applying CHAP-child to existing datasets may provide greater insights into the potential impacts and influences of sedentary time in children. 

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5. Dinos and GoPros: Children’s exploratory behaviors in a museum and their reflections on their learning

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1110612  

   Weisberg, Deena Skolnick; Dunlap, Lucretia C; Sobel, David M (February 2023, Frontiers in Psychology)

   Research in both laboratory and museum settings suggests that children’s exploration and caregiver–child interaction relate to children’s learning and engagement. Most of this work, however, takes a third-person perspective on children’s exploration of a single activity or exhibit, and does not consider children’s perspectives on their own exploration. In contrast, the current study recruited 6-to 10-year-olds (N = 52) to wear GoPro cameras, which recorded their first-person perspectives as they explored a dinosaur exhibition in a natural history museum. During a 10-min period, children were allowed to interact with 34 different exhibits, their caregivers and families, and museum staff however they wished. Following their exploration, children were asked to reflect on their exploration while watching the video they created and to report on whether they had learned anything. Children were rated as more engaged when they explored collaboratively with their caregivers. Children were more likely to report that they learned something when they were more engaged, and when they spent more time at exhibits that presented information didactically rather than being interactive. These results suggest that static exhibits have an important role to play in fostering learning experiences in museums, potentially because such exhibits allow for more caregiver–child interaction. 

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