Abstract
Background: Identifying the optimal balance between daily movement behaviours might be valuable for developing effective strategies to achieve a healthy weight. However, there remains a significant research gap in understanding how the optimal movement behaviour compositions vary between different populations and contexts.
Objective: To determine the optimal movement behaviour composition for healthy weight across the lifespan.
Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, this one-stage individual participant data meta-analysis harmonised data from observational or intervention studies that collected 24-hour movement-behaviour data using research-grade accelerometers and assessed body mass index (BMI) and/or waist circumference. Reprocessed raw accelerometer-derived data provided estimates of sleep duration and time spent in sedentary behaviour (SB), light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Healthy weight was defined as body mass index and waist circumference within the "healthy" ranges. The optimal daily movement behaviour composition was defined as the compositional mean of movement behaviour compositions associated with healthy weight.
Results: Harmonised data from 9,818 participants across 11 studies conducted in Australia, Brazil, Chile, Czechia, New Zealand, Spain and the UK were included. For children, the optimal daily composition of movement behaviours for "healthy" BMI included 9.1h of sleep, 9.9h of SB, 3.8h of LPA, and 1.2h of MVPA. For adolescents, it included 7.4h of sleep, 12.6h of SB, 3.5h of LPA, and 0.6h of MVPA. The optimal daily composition of movement behaviours for healthy weight, calculated as a pooled estimate for "healthy" BMI and "healthy" waist circumference, consisted of 7.9h of sleep, 12.1h of SB, 2.4h of LPA, and 1.6h of MVPA for adults and 7.9h of sleep, 12.6h of SB, 2.3h of LPA, and 1.2h of MVPA for older adults.
Conclusions: Movement behaviour composition is associated with weight-related outcomes in all age groups. Our findings could be used to optimise movement behaviours within weight management strategies across the lifespan, and to inform the development of future movement behaviour guidelines.