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Design and baseline characteristics of the Short bouTs of Exercise for Preschoolers (STEP) study
Sofiya Alhassan1, Ogechi Nwaokelemeh, Albert Mendoza
1Department of Kinesiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003-9258, USA. alhassan@kin.umass.edu
Insights
Short bouts of structured physical activity (SBS-PA) in preschool classrooms may increase children's overall physical activity (PA) levels during the school day. This study examined the impact of SBS-PA compared to unstructured play on preschooler activity.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physical activity interventions
- Early childhood education and health
- Public health and preventative medicine
Background:
- Preschools typically offer limited gross-motor/outdoor playtime, with most activity concentrated in the initial minutes.
- Existing physical activity (PA) in preschool settings is often insufficient to meet recommended guidelines.
- The Short bouts of Exercise for Preschoolers (STEP) study addresses this by exploring structured PA integration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of short bouts of structured physical activity (SBS-PA) integrated into the preschool day.
- To compare the impact of SBS-PA versus unstructured physical activity (UPA) on during-school PA levels in preschoolers.
- To provide evidence for PA policies that promote increased physical activity in early childhood education settings.
Main Methods:
- A cluster randomized controlled trial involving ten preschool centers serving low-income families.
- Intervention groups: SBS-PA (10-min structured PA twice daily in classrooms) and UPA (30-min unstructured playtime twice daily).
- Outcome measures included during-preschool PA assessed via accelerometers and direct observation over six months.
Main Results:
- The study enrolled 315 children (average age 4.1 years) across 34 classrooms.
- Baseline data indicated children spent 74% of their preschool day sedentary and 6% in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
- The intervention aimed to measure between-group differences in PA over the six-month study period.
Conclusions:
- The STEP intervention has the potential to demonstrate that incorporating shorter, structured PA bouts can enhance preschoolers' overall activity levels.
- Findings could support the adoption of PA policies that optimize physical activity exposure throughout the preschool day.
- This approach may offer a feasible strategy to increase physical activity in early childhood settings.
Background:
Most preschool centers provide two 30-min sessions of gross-motor/outdoor playtime per preschool day. Within this time frame, children accumulate most of their activity within the first 10 min. This paper describes the design and baseline participant characteristics of the Short bouTs of Exercise for Preschoolers (STEP) study. The STEP study is a cluster randomized controlled study designed to examine the effects of short bouts of structured physical activity (SBS-PA) implemented within the classroom setting as part of designated gross-motor playtime on during-school physical activity (PA) in preschoolers.
Methods/Design:
Ten preschool centers serving low-income families were randomized into SBS-PA versus unstructured PA (UPA). SBS-PA schools were asked to implement age-appropriate 10 min structured PA routines within the classroom setting, twice daily, followed by 20 min of usual unstructured playtime. UPA intervention consisted of 30 min of supervised unstructured free playtime twice daily. Interventions were implemented during the morning and afternoon designated gross-motor playtime for 30 min/session, five days/week for six months. Outcome measures were between group difference in during-preschool PA (accelerometers and direct observation) over six-months. Ten preschool centers, representing 34 classrooms and 315 children, enrolled in the study. The average age and BMI percentile for the participants was 4.1 ± 0.8 years and 69th percentile, respectively. Participants spent 74% and 6% of their preschool day engaged in sedentary and MVPA, respectively.
Discussion:
Results from the STEP intervention could provide evidence that a PA policy that exposes preschoolers to shorter bouts of structured PA throughout the preschool day could potentially increase preschoolers' PA levels.
