Neighbourhood environment and meeting 24-hour movement guidelines among schoolchildren

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between neighbourhood environment characteristics and meeting the Australian 24-hour movement guidelines. In total, 1216 Australian schoolchildren (10-12 years; 50.2% female) completed questionnaires and wore accelerometers to assess screen time, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and sleep. Parents reported neighbourhood environment characteristics including general safety, access to destinations and services, social capital and cohesion. Logistic regression analyses examined these associations, stratified by place of residence (69.2% in major cities vs 30.8% in regional and remote areas). Adherence to all guidelines was achieved by 10.1% of participants. Among schoolchildren in regional and remote areas, better access to destinations and services was associated with higher adherence to sleep guidelines (OR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.14, 1.92), and higher parent-reported social capital and cohesion was associated with higher adherence to MVPA (OR = 1.67; 95% CI: 1.15, 2.43) and screen time (OR = 1.68; 95% CI: 1.07, 2.63) guidelines. There were no statistically significant associations observed among schoolchildren living in major cities. Neighbourhood environment may influence adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines among regional/remote schoolchildren. Future research is needed to better understand the association between neighbourhood environment and compliance with movement guidelines in urban schoolchildren.