2019- 2020
University Medical Center Groningen, Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology & Emotion Regulation
In this study, we used data from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives (TRAILS) Next Generation cohort to investigate if it is feasible to use devices that measure steps and movements (accelerometers) in very young children, and if movements and steps recorded from the devices at the child’s wrist and the ankle give us the same information.
*Kunkels, Y. K., *Barzeva, S. A., Kim, Y., & Richards, J. S. (under review). Feasibility and comparability of wrist- and ankle-worn accelerometry to assess physical activity in 30-month-old toddlers: A Trails Next study. *Shared first authorship
Understanding the physical activity patterns of children could facilitate the prevention of adverse physical and mental health outcomes throughout the lifespan. Accelerometry is a promising observational method to assess physical activity in youth, but several methodological questions regarding its use with young children remain. We examined the feasibility of using accelerometers in 30-month-old toddlers, and investigated if data between wrist- and ankle-worn devices were equivalent. Data came from 45 toddler participants from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey — the Next generation cohort and their parents. Participants wore Actical accelerometers attached to their wrist and ankle for one weekend day. Feasibility was evaluated via the study’s attrition rates, resulting participant and accelerometry characteristics, reasons for missing data, and reports of negative wear experiences. The equivalence of movement and step data of 17 toddlers was tested with repeated measures correlations and two-one-sided t-tests (TOST). Results indicated that although this actigraphy study with toddlers was generally feasible, more attention should be given toward the recruitment capabilities and actigraphs’ acceptability. Wrist- and ankle-placed actigraphs provided equivalent data for activity counts but not for step counts. Results are discussed in the context of considerations for future studies that aim to assess physical activity of toddlers with accelerometry.