Comparison of accelerometry cut points for physical activity and sedentary behavior in pre-school children: a validation study

This study compared accelerometry cut points for sedentary behavior, light and moderate to vigorous intensity activity (MVPA) against a criterion measure, the Children’s Activity Rating Scale (CARS), in preschool children. Actigraph accelerometry data were collected from 31 children (4.4 ± 0.8 yrs) during one hour of free-play. Video data were coded using the CARS. Cut points by Pate et al., van Cauwenberghe et al., Sirard et al. and Puyau et al. were applied to calculate time spent in sedentary, light and MVPA. Repeated-measures ANOVA and paired t tests tested differences between the cut points and the CARS. Bland and Altman plots tested agreement between the cut points and the CARS. No significant difference was found between the CARS and the Puyau et al. cut points for sedentary, light and MVPA or between the CARS and the Sirard et al. cut point for MVPA. The present study suggests that the Sirard et al. and Puyau et al. cut points provide accurate group-level estimates of MVPA in preschool children.