Health associations with meeting new 24-hour movement guidelines for Canadian children and youth

The study objective was to examine whether meeting the new Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines was associated with health indicators in a representative sample of Canadian children and youth. Cross-sectional findings are based on 4157 (1239 fasting subsample) children and youth aged 6–17years from cycles 1–3 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). Sleep and screen time were subjectively measured while moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) was accelerometer-determined. Health indicators in the full sample (body mass index (BMI) z-scores, waist circumference, blood pressure, behavioral strengths and difficulties score (lower=better), and aerobic fitness) and fasting subsample (triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and insulin) were measured. Meeting the overall guidelines was defined as: 9–11 hour/night (5–13years) or 8–10 hour/day (14–17years) of sleep, ≤2 hour/day of screen time, and ≥60 minute/day of MVPA. Compared to meeting all three recommendations, meeting none, one, and two recommendations were associated with a higher BMI z-score, waist circumference, and behavioral strengths and difficulties score and lower aerobic fitness in a gradient pattern (Ptrend <0.05). Additionally, compared to meeting all three recommendations, meeting none and one recommendation were associated with higher systolic blood pressure and insulin (Ptrend <0.05). Finally, compared to meeting all three recommendations, meeting no recommendations was associated with higher triglycerides and lower HDL-cholesterol (Ptrend <0.05). Collectively, meeting more recommendations within the 24-hour movement guidelines was associated with better overall health. Since a small proportion (17%) of this representative sample was meeting the overall guidelines, efforts to promote adoption are needed.