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Increasing physical activity in preschool: a pilot study to evaluate animal trackers
Christine L Williams1, Betty Jean Carter, Debra L Kibbe
1Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA. chrisw320@aol.com
Objective:
This report describes a pilot study to evaluate Animal Trackers (AT), a preschool program designed to (1) increase structured physical activity (PA) during the preschool day; (2) increase practice of gross motor skills; (3) provide teachers with an easy-to-use PA program regardless of teacher experience; and (4) implement a teacher walking intervention.
Design:
Pilot observational study in volunteer preschools.
Setting:
Nine preschools in New Mexico.
Participants:
Two-hundred seventy 3- to 5-year-old children and 32 teachers.
Intervention:
Daily 10-minute classroom activities for children.
Main Outcome Measure:
Implementation and duration of AT activities, teacher preparation time, and added weekly time spent in structured PA.
Analysis:
Process evaluation to track program implementation, and pre-post measures to assess outcomes.
Results:
AT activities were implemented 4.1 times per week (11.4 minutes/activity), with 7 minutes teacher preparation time. Overall, AT added 47 minutes of structured PA per week for children.
Conclusions And Implications:
The AT program increased structured PA time in preschools. Teachers felt that AT was developmentally appropriate; that children enjoyed the activities; and that the children's motor skills improved. Results of the pilot study are encouraging, since research suggests that even small increases in PA could help prevent obesity.
