Objectively measured 24-h movement behaviours of child-guardian pairs in low-to-middle income households in Nairobi City County, Kenya

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) accele...

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Main Authors: Lucy-Joy Wachira, Nils Swindell, Noora Kanerva, Muhoro Munuhe, Timo Vuorimaa, Tiina Laiho, Sophie Ochola, Maijaliisa Erkkola, George Owino, Gareth Stratton, Mikael Fogelholm, Vincent Onywera
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2025-07-01
Series:Sports Medicine and Health Science
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666337625000198
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author Lucy-Joy Wachira
Nils Swindell
Noora Kanerva
Muhoro Munuhe
Timo Vuorimaa
Tiina Laiho
Sophie Ochola
Maijaliisa Erkkola
George Owino
Gareth Stratton
Mikael Fogelholm
Vincent Onywera
author_facet Lucy-Joy Wachira
Nils Swindell
Noora Kanerva
Muhoro Munuhe
Timo Vuorimaa
Tiina Laiho
Sophie Ochola
Maijaliisa Erkkola
George Owino
Gareth Stratton
Mikael Fogelholm
Vincent Onywera
author_sort Lucy-Joy Wachira
collection DOAJ
description 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 Sub-County), in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study used waist worn Tri-axial Actigraph (GT3X+ and ActiSleep+) 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 ​= ​0.036) while their counterparts had higher daily SED (p ​= ​0.049). Guardian’s SED associated with higher children’s SED (p ​= ​0.033) even after adjusting for guardians' educational attainment (p ​= ​0.032) and wealth (p ​= ​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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spelling doaj-art-958c853d221f4f23bde2d1611cd4aeaf2025-08-20T03:03:37ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Sports Medicine and Health Science2666-33762025-07-017426327110.1016/j.smhs.2025.01.008Objectively measured 24-h movement behaviours of child-guardian pairs in low-to-middle income households in Nairobi City County, KenyaLucy-Joy Wachira0Nils Swindell1Noora Kanerva2Muhoro Munuhe3Timo Vuorimaa4Tiina Laiho5Sophie Ochola6Maijaliisa Erkkola7George Owino8Gareth Stratton9Mikael Fogelholm10Vincent Onywera11Department of Physical Education, Exercise and Sport Science, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya; Corresponding author. Department of Physical Education, Exercise and Sport Science, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, 14488-00400, Kenya.Applied Sport Technology, Exercise and Medicine Research Centre, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, UKDepartment of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Physical Education, Exercise and Sport Science, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, KenyaDepartment of Sport and Leisure Management, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Vierumäki, FinlandDepartment of Sport and Leisure Management, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Vierumäki, FinlandDepartment of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, KenyaDepartment of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Sociology, Kenyatta University, KenyaApplied Sport Technology, Exercise and Medicine Research Centre, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, UKDepartment of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, FinlandDivision of Research, Innovation and Outreach, KCA University, KenyaBackground: 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 Sub-County), in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study used waist worn Tri-axial Actigraph (GT3X+ and ActiSleep+) 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 ​= ​0.036) while their counterparts had higher daily SED (p ​= ​0.049). Guardian’s SED associated with higher children’s SED (p ​= ​0.033) even after adjusting for guardians' educational attainment (p ​= ​0.032) and wealth (p ​= ​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.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266633762500019824-h movement behaviourAccelerometerAdolescentsParentPhysical activitySocio-economic status
spellingShingle Lucy-Joy Wachira
Nils Swindell
Noora Kanerva
Muhoro Munuhe
Timo Vuorimaa
Tiina Laiho
Sophie Ochola
Maijaliisa Erkkola
George Owino
Gareth Stratton
Mikael Fogelholm
Vincent Onywera
Objectively measured 24-h movement behaviours of child-guardian pairs in low-to-middle income households in Nairobi City County, Kenya
Sports Medicine and Health Science
24-h movement behaviour
Accelerometer
Adolescents
Parent
Physical activity
Socio-economic status
title Objectively measured 24-h movement behaviours of child-guardian pairs in low-to-middle income households in Nairobi City County, Kenya
title_full Objectively measured 24-h movement behaviours of child-guardian pairs in low-to-middle income households in Nairobi City County, Kenya
title_fullStr Objectively measured 24-h movement behaviours of child-guardian pairs in low-to-middle income households in Nairobi City County, Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Objectively measured 24-h movement behaviours of child-guardian pairs in low-to-middle income households in Nairobi City County, Kenya
title_short Objectively measured 24-h movement behaviours of child-guardian pairs in low-to-middle income households in Nairobi City County, Kenya
title_sort objectively measured 24 h movement behaviours of child guardian pairs in low to middle income households in nairobi city county kenya
topic 24-h movement behaviour
Accelerometer
Adolescents
Parent
Physical activity
Socio-economic status
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666337625000198
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