How active are our children? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: To describe levels of physical activity, sedentary time and adherence to Chief Medical Officers (CMO) physical activity guidelines among primary school-aged children across the UK using objective accelerometer-based measurements. DESIGN: Nationally representative prospective cohort study. SETTING: Children born across the UK, between 2000 and 2002. PARTICIPANTS: 6497 7-year-old to 8-year-old singleton children for whom reliable accelerometer data were available for at least 10 h a day for at least 2 days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Physical activity in counts per minute (cpm); time spent in sedentary and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA); proportion of children meeting CMO guidelines (≥60 min/day MVPA); average daily steps. EXPLANATORY MEASURES: Gender, ethnicity, maternal current/most recent occupation, lone parenthood status, number of children in the…