Children's Obesogenic Behaviors During Summer Versus School: A Within‐Person Comparison

摘要

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Evidence consistently shows children in the United States gain 3 to 5 times more weight during summer vacation (～2.5 months) compared to the 9‐month school year. The purpose of this study is to examine within‐child differences in 4 obesogenic behaviors (physical activity [PA], sedentary/screen‐time, diet, and sleep) during school versus summer. METHODS We used a repeated‐measures within‐subjects design. Children (N = 30 mean age = 8.2 years; 57% female; 37% overweight/obese; 100% African American) wore accelerometers on the nondominant wrist for 24 hr/d over 9 consecutive days during school and summer of 2016 to capture PA, sedentary time, and sleep. Parents completed a daily diary to report bed/wake times, diet, and screen‐time of their child each day. Mixed‐effect models compared summer and school behaviors. RESULTS Children spent more time sedentary (69% vs 67% of wake wear time), less time in light PA (25% vs 23% of wake wear time), had higher screen‐time (242 vs 123 minutes/day), slept longer (428 vs 413 minutes/night), and consumed more sugar‐based foods (6 days vs 2.5 days/week) and fruit (7 days vs 4.7 days/week) during summer compared to school (p .05). CONCLUSION Initial evidence suggests children are displaying multiple unfavorable obesogenic behaviors during summer compared to school that may contribute to accelerated weight gain during summer.