{
  "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 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.",
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  "author_total": 60,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Guilherme Balbim"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ryan Falck"
    },
    {
      "name": "Teresa Liu-Ambrose"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chuidan Kong"
    },
    {
      "name": "David Zimmon"
    },
    {
      "name": "Daniel Elesin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Cassandra D’amore"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jennifer Davis"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nucharapon Liangruenrom"
    },
    {
      "name": "Madeline Crowley"
    },
    {
      "name": "Natan Feter"
    },
    {
      "name": "Matthew Ahmadi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Francisco Ortega"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jairo Migueles"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jean-Philippe Chaput"
    },
    {
      "name": "Meijun Hou"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kaiqi Guan"
    },
    {
      "name": "George Thomas"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tahlia Alsop"
    },
    {
      "name": "Damian Mcclymont"
    },
    {
      "name": "Emmett Morgante"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rui Cao"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yujie Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xun Luo"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zijun Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Connor Graham"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lauren Centeno Scherer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Maya Nagaishi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Linjing Zhou"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rebeca Hernández Gamboa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yeon Soo Seo"
    },
    {
      "name": "Matthew Noseworthy"
    },
    {
      "name": "Liye Zou"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lora Giangregorio"
    },
    {
      "name": "Karen Spruyt"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sjaan Gomersall"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yiqun Gan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Robert Schinke"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shigeru Inoue"
    },
    {
      "name": "Takumi Abe"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yu-Kai Chang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Amy Shirong Lu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Åsa Tornberg"
    },
    {
      "name": "Frank Hookin Fu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhaowei Kong"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kirk Erickson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ester Cerin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ashleigh Smith"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jasper Schipperijn"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jannique van Uffelen"
    },
    {
      "name": "António Palmeira"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michelle Voss"
    },
    {
      "name": "David Dunstan"
    },
    {
      "name": "David Lubans"
    },
    {
      "name": "Linda Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jennifer Tomasone"
    },
    {
      "name": "Miao Miao"
    },
    {
      "name": "Keerthana Swaminathan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Varadayini Gorhe"
    },
    {
      "name": "Maurelle D’sa"
    }
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  "doi": "10.1186/s12966-026-01945-6",
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  "pmcid": "PMC13729492",
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  "published": "2026-08-05",
  "publisher": "BioMed Central",
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  "title": "Terminology for describing the 24-h cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep: a scoping review",
  "title_text": "Terminology for describing the 24-h cycle of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep: a scoping review",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T12:22:14Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6j8h0jy8nyz30",
  "venue": "International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity",
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