Comparison of sedentary behaviors between children with autism spectrum disorders and typically developing children.
Kids with autism sit and watch screens about one extra hour each weekday, and weekend sitting ties to higher BMI.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team compared sitting habits of kids with autism to same-age typical kids. They used waist belts that track movement all day. Parents also filled logs about TV and game time.
The sample was children aged 3-11. Each child wore the belt for one full week.
What they found
Kids with autism sat about one extra hour on weekdays. They also watched one more hour of screens than peers.
On weekends, more sitting time linked to higher BMI only in the autism group.
How this fits with other research
Miltenberger et al. (2013) comes from the same lab and same kids. That paper looked at running and jumping, not sitting. It found equal active minutes, so the extra hour here is new sitting time, not lost play time.
Whitehouse et al. (2013) asked parents to recall screen use. They also saw 62 % more TV and game time in autism. The belt data now proves parents were right.
Esteban-Figuerola et al. (2021) weighed and measured the same age group. They show school-age kids with autism carry more fat and higher heart-risk numbers. The weekend sitting-BMI link here helps explain why.
Jean-Arwert et al. (2020) widened the age range to teens. They report half as much daily movement in autism. Together, the papers paint one picture: less play, more sitting, higher weight.
Why it matters
Expect an extra hour of screen time on weekdays for children with autism and track weekend sitting. Add simple movement breaks or active games to replace that hour. Share the BMI link with families so they plan active weekends together.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Time spent in sedentary behavior is largely due to time spent engaged with electronic screen media. Little is known about the extent to which sedentary behaviors for children with autism spectrum disorder differ from typically developing children. We used parental report to assess and compare time spent in sedentary behaviors for 53 children with autism spectrum disorder and 58 typically developing children aged 3-11 years. We also determined how sedentary behavior was related to child weight status (body mass index z-score). Overall, children with autism spectrum disorder spent an hour more in sedentary behaviors on weekdays compared to typically developing children (5.2 vs 4.2 h, p = 0.03), and most of this difference was due to screen time. The age- and sex-adjusted estimate of weekday total daily screen time was 1.6 h (typically developing) compared to 2.5 h (autism spectrum disorder, p = 0.004 for difference). A significant relationship between BMI z-score and total sedentary behavior time on weekend days was observed among young children with ASD, but not among TD children. The modest association between weekend sedentary behaviour time and BMI z-score among children with ASD suggests that sedentary behaiour is linked to relative weight status in these children. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and identify causal pathways.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2014 · doi:10.1177/1362361313479039