A global research project dedicated to setting children up for a lifetime of healthy movement is being supported at the University of Alberta.
The International Study of Movement Behaviours in the Early Years (SUNRISE) Coordinating Centre, led by Dr. Valerie Carson, will oversee data collection and analysis across more than 24 countries around the globe involving the movement behaviours of over 24,000 preschoolers.
Bringing together researchers from low, middle and high-income countries, the SUNRISE project measures physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep, development outcomes and various influencing factors among children aged three and four.
"Early childhood is a critical development period," notes Carson, a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation.
"If children aren't establishing healthy movement, sleep and screen-time patterns at this age, it can affect their long-term health, and it's much easier to set them up for success early than to try to change entrenched behaviours later."
Scientific studies published over the next few years from the collected data can contribute to a 2030 update of the World Health Organization's Guidelines for Early Childhood Movement Behaviours, as well as inform national and international practices and policies, and future research and interventions for young children.
Carson has received funding support for the University of Alberta SUNRISE Coordinating Centre from the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation through the Women and Children's Health Research Institute, from Mitacs and from the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation.
