Abstract

Background: Little is known about of correlates of physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB), and sleeping in childrenfrom Latin America. The aim of this study was to assess the association between potential correlates with device-measured PA, SB andsleeping time in children from 9 to 11 years in Carahue, Chile. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess correlates ofphysical behaviours (demographic, psychological, behavioural, home and school environment factors) from data reported by participantsand caregivers. Each participant wore an ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer on the hip during seven consecutive days to measure PA, SBand sleeping time. Results: In total, 148 participants completed the study (47.3% male, 10.0±0.8 years). SB was positively associatedwith age, being female, family income, total screen time and distance to places, and negatively with higher scores of parent support forPA. Light PA was associated with age, family income, total screen time (all negative), and parent support for PA (positive). Moderate PAwas associated with being male, self-efficacy and established healthy lifestyle committee at school. Vigorous PA was associated withbeing male, self-efficacy (both positive) and BMI z-score (negatively). Sleeping time was associated with age, portable videogameownership (both negative) and PE minutes/week (positive).Conclusion: Variables from different levels explained each behaviour, reinforcingthe need for multilevel strategies for promoting and helping to ensure healthier lifestyles in children.Keywords: physical inactivity, sleeping, sitting, sedentary, physical behaviours.