How energy balance-related behaviours, temperament, stress and overweight associate: a cross-sectional study of Finnish preschoolers.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to (1) examine the clustering of energy balance-related behaviours (EBRB) and (2) investigate whether EBRB clusters, temperament and hair cortisol concentration (HCC) associate with overweight. DESIGN: We assessed food consumption using food records, screen time (ST) using sedentary behaviour diaries, sleep consistency and temperament (negative affectivity, surgency, effortful control) using questionnaires and HCC using hair samples. Accelerometers were used to assess physical activity (PA) intensities, sleep duration and sleep efficiency. Researchers measured each child's weight and height. We used finite mixture models to identify EBRB clusters and multilevel logistic regression models to examine the associations between EBRB clusters, temperament, HCC and overweight. SETTING: The cross-sectional DAGIS survey, data collected in 2015-2016. PARTICIPANTS: Finnish 3-6-year-olds (n 864) recruited through preschools. RESULTS: One-third of the participants were categorised into the cluster labelled 'Unhealthy diet, excessive screen time', characterised by unhealthy dietary choices (e.g. greater consumption of high-fat, high-sugar dairy products) and longer ST. Two-thirds were categorised into the second cluster, labelled 'Healthy diet, moderate screen time'. PA and sleep were irrelevant for clustering. Higher negative affectivity and lower effortful control associated with the 'Unhealthy diet, excessive screen time' cluster. EBRB clusters and HCC did not associate with overweight, but surgency was positively associated with overweight (OR = 1·63, 95 % CI 1·17, 2·25). CONCLUSIONS: Of the EBRB, food consumption and ST seem to associate. As temperament associates with EBRB clusters and overweight, tailored support acknowledging the child's temperament could be profitable in maintaining a healthy weight.

A tendency toward evening chronotype associates with less healthy diet among preschoolers: cross-sectional findings from the DAGIS study.

Study Objectives: Evidence suggests that adolescents and adults with a later chronotype have poorer sleep habits and are more susceptible to unhealthy behaviors, but little is known about these associations in younger children. The objective of the study was to (1) identify and compare individual chronotype tendencies among preschool-aged children and (2) investigate associations of sleep dimensions and chronotype with diet. Methods: Participants were 636 3-6 years old (mean ±â€…SD age: 4.74 ±â€…0.89 years, 49% girls) preschoolers from the cross-sectional Increased Health and Well-Being in Preschoolers (DAGIS) study in Finland. Sleep duration, sleep variability (in duration and midpoint), social jetlag, and midsleep on weekends adjusted for sleep debt (MSWEadj) were measured with 7-day actigraphy. Morning, intermediate, and evening chronotype tendencies were defined based on the lowest and highest 10th percentile cutoffs of MSWEadj. Food, energy, and macronutrient intake were assessed from 3-day records. Associations between sleep dimensions and diet were assessed with regression models. Results: MSWEadj was 1:13 ±â€…14 minutes for morning (n = 64), 2:25 ±â€…28 minutes for intermediate (n = 560), and 3:38 ±â€…15 minutes for evening (n = 64) chronotype tendency. Children with an evening chronotype tendency had greater social jetlag and sleep variability. Having an evening chronotype tendency was associated with higher added sugar, higher sugary food consumption, and lower vegetable consumption compared to intermediate tendency types. A later chronotype (MSWEadj) was associated with higher sugary food consumption, as well as lower vegetable and fiber intake. Sleep duration, social jetlag, and sleep variability were not associated with diet. Conclusions: Several less healthy sleep and diet behaviors were observed among children with later chronotypes. Future public health interventions aimed towards children would benefit from taking into account chronotype.