Does Children’s Physical Literacy Mediate the Relationship Between Age and Sedentary Behaviour?

Abstract

Sedentary behaviour (SB), refers to any waking behaviour that requires little to no energy expenditure. As children age, SBs are shown to increase, which can be linked to negative health outcomes (i.e. obesity). Although correlates of SB have been identified, the impact of physical literacy (PL) on children’s SB has not been established. PL is defined as having the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for physical activity for life. The present study aimed to test the novel idea that children’s PL mediates the relationship between age and SB, using data from the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy, (which measured PL in 8-12 year olds). Significant mediation was found (b= -.0092, 95% CI [-.0145, -.0045]). The results of this study suggest that further exploration of the relationship between PL and SB, is needed to help reverse the age-related increase of sedentary time in children.