Dr. Mark Tremblay (Director of HALO) and Allana LeBlanc (Research Coordinator) have published a new paper in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, “Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years (aged 0 – 4 years)“. The paper provides a brief overview of the process and outcomes for the development of the first Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years (aged 0 – 4 years). Full citation details are below:

Mark S. Tremblay, Allana G. LeBlanc, Valerie Carson, Louise Choquette, Sarah Connor Gorber, Carrie Dillman, Mary Duggan, Mary Jane Gordon, Audrey Hicks, Ian Janssen, Michelle E. Kho, Amy E. Latimer-Cheung, Claire LeBlanc, Kelly Murumets, Anthony D. Okely, John J. Reilly, Jodie A. Stearns, Brian W. Timmons, and John C. Spence. Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years (aged 0 – 4 years). Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. Vol. 37, 2012, 370-80.

ABSTRACT: The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), with assistance from multiple partners, stakeholders, and researchers, developed the first Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years (aged 0 – 4 years). These national guidelines are in response to a call from health and health care professionals, child care providers, and fitness practitioners for guidance on sedentary behaviour in the early years. The guideline development process followed the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research Evaluation (AGREE) II framework. The recommendations are informed by evidence from a systematic review that examined the relationships between sedentary behaviour (predominantly screen time) and health indicators (healthy body weight, bone and skeletal health, motor skill development, psychosocial health, cognitive development, and cardiometabolic disease risk factors) for three age groups (infants aged900 domestic and international stakeholders, end-users, and key informants. The final guidelines state: for healthy growth and development, caregivers should minimize the time infants (aged <1 year), toddlers (aged 1 – 2 years), and preschoolers (aged 3 – 4 years) spend being sedentary during waking hours. This includes prolonged sitting or being restrained (e.g., stroller, high chair) for more than 1 h at a time. For those under 2 years, screen time (e.g., TV, computer, electronic games) is not recommended. For children 2 – 4 years, screen time should be limited to under 1 h per day; less is better.

To download the paper for free, click here.