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Terminology for describing the 24-h cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep: a scoping review

Balbim, Guilherme Moraes ; Falck, Ryan Stanley ; Liu-Ambrose, Teresa ; Chuidan, Kong ; David, Zimmon ; Daniel, Elesin ; Cassandra, D'Amore ; Davis, Jennifer C ; Liangruenrom, Nucharapon and Madeline, Crowley , et al. (2026) In International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
Abstract
Background
Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep are three behaviours which occupy the 24-h cycle and interact to influence a multitude of health outcomes. Different terms are currently used to describe these behaviours collectively (e.g., movement behaviours or physical behaviours). The lack of clear and consistent terminology makes it hard to compare, interpret, and build on research findings. As a first step towards developing consensus on what terminology to use for discussing the 24-h cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, we conducted a scoping review to identify the breadth of terminology used to describe this phenomenon.

Methods
All searches occurred between September 18th – 20th... (More)
Background
Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep are three behaviours which occupy the 24-h cycle and interact to influence a multitude of health outcomes. Different terms are currently used to describe these behaviours collectively (e.g., movement behaviours or physical behaviours). The lack of clear and consistent terminology makes it hard to compare, interpret, and build on research findings. As a first step towards developing consensus on what terminology to use for discussing the 24-h cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, we conducted a scoping review to identify the breadth of terminology used to describe this phenomenon.

Methods
All searches occurred between September 18th – 20th 2024. We searched nine databases: Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, Education Source, and Compendex from inception to September 18th 2024. The Journal of Activity, Sedentary and Sleep Behaviors and the International Network of Time-Use Epidemiologists (INTUE) publication lists were manually searched on September 19th – 20th 2024. Peer-reviewed articles were included if they 1) were published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Korean, or Japanese; 2) focused on humans; and 3) describe physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep in an integrated manner. We identified different terminologies used for collectively discussing physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep across the 24-h cycle.

Results
Our search identified 10,749 articles of which 979 articles met our inclusion criteria. Across all articles, 199 different terms were used to describe physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep collectively. The term movement behaviours was used in 673 articles, 24-h movement behaviours was used in 457 articles, physical behaviours was used in 58 articles, 24-h activity cycle was used in 36 articles, and time-use behaviours was used in 31 articles.

Conclusions
The two most popular terms for describing the collective interaction of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep are movement behaviours and 24-h movement behaviours. However, there is not yet an internationally recognized and agreed-upon term for holistically describing the 24-h cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep. Developing a homogeneous and widely accepted set of terminology and definitions is thus critical if we hope to ensure clarity, enhance reproducibility, and enable the translation of future research into coherent guidelines, policies, and practices for these behaviours. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
ISSN
1479-5868
DOI
10.1186/s12966-026-01945-6
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
966b6a65-9c24-4fd6-8fa0-f33b4c8ce0ba
date added to LUP
2026-09-14 10:03:11
date last changed
2026-09-15 03:07:54
@article{966b6a65-9c24-4fd6-8fa0-f33b4c8ce0ba,
  abstract     = {{Background<br/>Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep are three behaviours which occupy the 24-h cycle and interact to influence a multitude of health outcomes. Different terms are currently used to describe these behaviours collectively (e.g., movement behaviours or physical behaviours). The lack of clear and consistent terminology makes it hard to compare, interpret, and build on research findings. As a first step towards developing consensus on what terminology to use for discussing the 24-h cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, we conducted a scoping review to identify the breadth of terminology used to describe this phenomenon.<br/><br/>Methods<br/>All searches occurred between September 18th – 20th 2024. We searched nine databases: Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, Education Source, and Compendex from inception to September 18th 2024. The Journal of Activity, Sedentary and Sleep Behaviors and the International Network of Time-Use Epidemiologists (INTUE) publication lists were manually searched on September 19th – 20th 2024. Peer-reviewed articles were included if they 1) were published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Korean, or Japanese; 2) focused on humans; and 3) describe physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep in an integrated manner. We identified different terminologies used for collectively discussing physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep across the 24-h cycle.<br/><br/>Results<br/>Our search identified 10,749 articles of which 979 articles met our inclusion criteria. Across all articles, 199 different terms were used to describe physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep collectively. The term movement behaviours was used in 673 articles, 24-h movement behaviours was used in 457 articles, physical behaviours was used in 58 articles, 24-h activity cycle was used in 36 articles, and time-use behaviours was used in 31 articles.<br/><br/>Conclusions<br/>The two most popular terms for describing the collective interaction of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep are movement behaviours and 24-h movement behaviours. However, there is not yet an internationally recognized and agreed-upon term for holistically describing the 24-h cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep. Developing a homogeneous and widely accepted set of terminology and definitions is thus critical if we hope to ensure clarity, enhance reproducibility, and enable the translation of future research into coherent guidelines, policies, and practices for these behaviours.}},
  author       = {{Balbim, Guilherme Moraes and Falck, Ryan Stanley and Liu-Ambrose, Teresa and Chuidan, Kong and David, Zimmon and Daniel, Elesin and Cassandra, D'Amore and Davis, Jennifer C and Liangruenrom, Nucharapon and Madeline, Crowley and Feter, Natan and Ahmadi, Matthew N and Ortega, Francisco and Migueles, Jairo H and Chaput, Jean-Philippe and Hou, Meijun and Guan, Kaiqi and Thomas, George and Alsop, Tahlia and McClymont, Damian and Morgante, Emmett and Cao, Rui and Liu, Yujie and Luo, Xun and Liu, Zijun and Graham, Connor and Centeno Scherer, Lauren and Nagaishi, Maya and Zhou, Linjing and Hernández Gamboa, Rebeca and Soo Seo, Yeon and Noseworthy, Matthew and Zou, Liye and Giangregorio, Lora and Spruyt, Karen and Gomersall, Sjaan R and Gan, Yiqun and Schinke, Robert and Inoue, Shigeru and Abe, Takumi and Chang, Yu-Kai and Lu, Amy Shirong and Tornberg, Åsa and Fu, Frank Hookin and Kong, Zhaowei and Erickson, Kirk I and Cerin, Ester and Smith, Ashleigh E and Schipperijn, Jasper and van Uffelen, Jannique and Palmeira, António and Voss, Michelle W and Dunstan, David W and Lubans, David R and Li, Linda C and Tomasone, Jennifer R and Miao, Miao and Swaminathan, Keerthana and Gorhe, Varadayini and D'Sa, Maurelle}},
  issn         = {{1479-5868}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity}},
  title        = {{Terminology for describing the 24-h cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep: a scoping review}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12966-026-01945-6}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12966-026-01945-6}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}