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Assessing Physical Activity And Sedentary Time In The Early Years, Leigh M. Vanderloo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The overall purpose of this dissertation was to explore young children’s (18 months to 5 years) physical activity and sedentary time. Study 1 assessed the physical activity and sedentary time among a sample of toddlers from London, Canada using two data processing approaches. Study 2 explored the impact of three different early learning environments, and their respective characteristics (e.g., staff behaviours, equipment, sedentary opportunities, etc.), on preschoolers’ activity levels. Study 3 examined differences in two popular accelerometers used to measure young children’s physical activity and sedentary time to better understand measurement discrepancies.

Study 1 revealed that toddlers engaged in 37.27 …

The Association Between Social Cohesion And Physical Activity In Communities Across Canada: A Multilevel Analysis, Calvin Yip

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background: In Canada, only 15% of adults meet physical activity guidelines for optimal health. Previous research has suggested that social cohesion may promote physical activity.

Objective: To assess the association between social cohesion and physical activity among adults aged 18 to 64 years in Canada.

Methods: Data from the 2009-2010, 2011-2012, and 2013-2014 cycles (N=245,150) of the Canadian Community Health Survey were used. Physical activity level was operationalized using average daily energy expenditure, social cohesion was determined by self-rated sense of belonging to the local community, and communities were represented by Canada’s Forward Sortation Areas. Multilevel regression models were used …