Why should we measure?

Eero Haapala, Pediatric sports and exercise medicine researcher, Ph.D. (Physiology) and Adjunct Professor in Pediatric Exercise Physiology (University of Jyväskylä)

Why children and youth should be measured? What is the most relevant matter?

Measuring children and youth has no intrinsic value. Rather, measurement is a tool for parents, teachers, and, of course, for children and youth themselves. One can understand more fully how to promote wellbeing by assessing daily rhythm in terms of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep.

What should be measured?

Circadian rhythm. Measurement of circadian rhythm, and dividedness of physical activity/exercise, inactivity/being sedentary, and sleep within 24 hours is important. Moreover, observing and measuring the quality of nutrition is crucial. Therefore, measuring should consider the big picture. Regarding physical activity/exercise, perhaps the most significant aspect is the total amount and its dividedness over one day. For example, one 60-minute bout of exercise per day may be insufficient if the remaining time is sedentary.

Sedentariness/inactiveness. The role of measuring sedentariness/inactiveness has increased. The measurement should take into account both the total amount of time and continuousness. For instance, the same total amount of time spent sitting when separated into shorter periods is not as unhealthy as sitting continuously.

Sleep is vital for the wellbeing of the human brain. Sufficient amount of sleep and adequate sleep quality are essential measures of sleep.

Diet quality. When measuring the diet quality precedence should be given to the quality of overall dietary patterns instead of isolated nutrients. We have observed that the overall diet quality has a stronger positive association with cognitive skills than isolated foods and nutrients (Haapala et al., Journal of Nutrition, 2015).

How should we measure?

Any single measure or indicator is unable to tell us everything. Hence, using diverse and complementary measurement methods is advisable. For example, it is fitting and beneficial when measuring physical activity/exercise to use both motion sensors and multifaceted questionnaires.

Reliability and usability of measured information

Results obtained through various measuring devices should not be taken as all-encompassing truths. However, they certainly give valuable and test subject-independent estimation, for instance, of the amount of physical activity/exercise. Consequently, motion sensors can be used quite reliably to estimate the total amount of physical activity/exercise - and to a lesser extent, the load/intensity. Currently, motion sensors in themselves are inept in depicting individual physical activity/exercise load; this is because it is customary to use a single threshold value to define, for example, moderate/brisk physical activity/exercise. Therefore, one absolute threshold value may be too high for one individual and too low for another individual (Haapala et al. unpublished manuscript presented in The Finnish Society of Sports Sciences Conference on Sports and exercise medicine (2018) ). 

Specialties:

• Physical activity and learning
• Pediatric exercise medicine and exercise physiology
• Physical activity and physical fitness in pediatric populations
• The associations of dietary factors with cognition and learning
• The relationships of health behaviors to vascular health and cardiometabolic risk factors since childhood

Research and publications of Eero Haapala:

Children’s Exercise Medicine & Health Research -tutkimusryhmän verkkosivusto
– sisältää runsaasti tutkimusartikkeleita ja muita tutkimuksellisia julkaisuja

Joy, play and doing together - Recommendations for physical activity in early childhood.
Publications of the Ministry on Education and Culture, Finland 2016:21 (English abstract available)