Funding outcome

A systematic review is a scientific way to understand what the literature tells us about a specific topic. We will do a systematic review on the relationship between sedentary behaviour (sitting or lying with little movement while awake) and health in early years children (ages birth to 4 years). This information will be used to update recommendations (also known as guidelines) for parents, educators, and governments to promote optimal health in early years children. This is important because health consequences of excessive sedentary behaviour across the lifespan are increasingly being recognized. Recent evidence indicates that even this young age group engages in excessive amounts of sedentary behaviour. The team has expertise in sedentary behaviour and early years children. The team also has extensive experience in doing systematic reviews and developing guidelines. Many team members were part of the team that developed the first sedentary behaviour guidelines for this age group 5 years ago. It is important that guidelines are updated regularly to ensure they are based on the most up to date evidence. The large team of national and international researchers and national knowledge users will meet to plan the review and ensure it pays close attention to how these studies measure sedentary behaviour in early years children, including how much, how often, and what type. After the review is completed the team will meet again to agree on what recommendations should be included in the updated guidelines to optimize health in early years children. These guidelines will be based on the best available science. Ultimately, parents, care-providers, educators, and governments can have the highest confidence in Canada's updated guidelines. Some other countries, such as Australia and the United Kingdom, will collaborate on this project to update similar guidelines in their countries