ActiGraph Cutpoints Impact Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Outcomes in Young Children

Congratulations to the 2022 SBRN Award Winners!
August 1, 2022
Association between Chronotype, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour: A Systematic Review
August 10, 2022
Congratulations to the 2022 SBRN Award Winners!
August 1, 2022
Association between Chronotype, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour: A Systematic Review
August 10, 2022

A  paper titled “ActiGraph Cutpoints Impact Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Outcomes in Young Children” has recently been published in the Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour. The summary of the paper and citation details are re-posted below. The full publication is available here.

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Examine the effect of cutpoint selection on physical activity (PA) metrics calculated from young children’s accelerometer data and on the proportion of children meeting PA guidelines. Methods: A total of 262 children (3.6 ± 1.4 years, 126 males) wore ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers on their right hip for 7 days, 24 hr/day. Ten cutpoint sets were applied to the sample categorized by age, based on populations of the original cutpoint calibration studies using ActiLife software. Resulting sedentary behavior, light PA, moderate to vigorous PA, and total PA were compared using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Proportion of children meeting age-appropriate PA guidelines based on each cutpoint set was assessed using Cochran’s q tests. Results: Children wore the accelerometer for an average of 7.6 ± 1.2 days for an average of 11.9 ± 1.2 hr/day. Significant differences in time spent in each intensity were found across all cutpoints except for sedentary, and total PA for three comparisons (Trost vs. Butte Vertical Axis [VA], Pate vs. Puyau, and Costa VA vs. Evenson) and moderate to vigorous PA for four comparisons (Trost vs. Pate, Trost vs. Pate and Pfeiffer, Pate vs. Pate and Pfeiffer, and van Cauwenberghe vs. Evenson). When examined within age-appropriate groups, all sets of cutpoints resulted in significant differences across all intensities and in the number of children meeting PA guidelines. Conclusion: Choice of cutpoints applied to data from young children significantly affects times calculated for different movement intensities, which in turn impacts the proportion of children meeting guidelines. Thus, comparisons of movement intensities should not be made across studies using different sets of cutpoints.

CITATION

Breau, B., Coyle-Asbil, H. J., Haines, J., Ma, D. W., Vallis, L. A., & on behalf of the Guelph Family Health Study. (2022). ActiGraph Cutpoints Impact Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Outcomes in Young Children, Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour, 5(2), 85-96.

The full article can be found here.