Adiposity, cardiovascular, and health-related quality of life indicators and the reallocation of waking movement behaviors in preschool children with overweight and obesity: An isotemporal data analysis

Background: Isotemporal substitution evaluates hypothetical time replacement scenarios of physical movement on health, with few studies conducted among ethnically diverse preschool-aged populations. This study examines the reallocation of waking movement behaviors on adiposity, cardiovascular, and quality of life indicators among low-income, majority Hispanic preschool-aged youth (2–5 years) with overweight. Methods: Participants wore an ActiGraph monitor (waist) and completed adiposity, cardiovascular, and health-related quality of life health assessments. Covariates included age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The isotemporal substitution approach was employed to address study aims. Results: Complete data were available for 131 preschoolers. For boys, reallocating 5 minutes of stationary time with light intensity, moderate to vigorous intensity, or total physical activity showed a relation with beneficial reductions in adiposity indicators; for girls, these relations were statistically null. For boys and girls, reallocating 5 minutes of stationary time [-2.2 (95% CI: -3.7, -0.7) mmHg], light intensity [-2.1 (95% CI: -3.7, -0.7) mmHg], or moderate intensity activity [-2.7 (95% CI: -5.0, -0.4) mmHg] to vigorous intensity activity was related to favorable systolic blood pressure. Reallocating 5 minutes of stationary time to moderate to vigorous intensity activity [0.6 (95% CI: -1.0, -0.1) mmHg] or total physical activity [-0.2 (95% CI: -0.3, -0.01) mmHg] was related to lowered systolic blood pressure. Reallocating 5 minutes of stationary time to moderate to vigorous intensity activity [0.6 (95% CI: -1.1, -0.02) bpm] was related to lowered resting heart rate. No significant results for quality of life were found. Conclusion: Reallocation of time from stationary time to other movement behaviors is associated with several favorable adiposity and cardiovascular health outcomes among preschool children with overweight and obesity.