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Physical activity behaviours of highly active preschoolers
E K Howie1, W H Brown, M Dowda
1Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA. howieek@email.sc.edu
Insights
Highly active children exhibit unique movement patterns in preschool, engaging in more running and climbing indoors. Promoting outdoor time and varied activities can enhance physical activity for all young children.
Area of Science:
- Childhood development
- Physical activity research
- Early childhood education
Background:
- Understanding physical activity in young children is crucial for promoting healthy habits in preschool settings.
- Identifying characteristics of highly active children can inform targeted interventions.
- Preschool environments play a significant role in children's daily movement behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the specific movement characteristics of highly active (HA) children during their time in preschool.
- To compare the activity patterns of HA children with those of lower-active (LA) children.
- To provide insights for promoting physical activity among all preschoolers.
Main Methods:
- 231 children from 20 preschools wore accelerometers to measure physical activity levels.
- Children were categorized into tertiles based on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
- Movement behaviors were observed using the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children-Preschool Version, with mixed-model analyses comparing HA and LA groups.
Main Results:
- Highly active (HA) children were significantly more active indoors than lower-active (LA) children.
- HA children demonstrated more frequent running, crawling, climbing, jumping, skipping, swinging, and throwing throughout the school day.
- Specific differences included more swinging and throwing outdoors, and more pulling, pushing, and running indoors for HA children compared to LA children.
Conclusions:
- Highly active children display distinct patterns of movement and activity engagement.
- Interventions aimed at increasing physical activity in preschoolers should prioritize outdoor time.
- Incorporating a variety of physical activities throughout the entire school day is recommended to benefit all children.
Background:
Understanding the physical activity behaviour of young children who are highly active may provide important guidance for promoting physical activity in preschools.
Objectives:
The objective of this study was to describe the movement characteristics of high-active (HA) children during attendance at preschools.
Methods:
Children in 20 preschools (n = 231) wore accelerometers and were classified into tertiles of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Children's movement characteristics were observed using the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children-Preschool Version. Mixed-model analyses compared movement types between HA children and lower-active (LA) children during the total school day.
Results:
HA (n = 77) children were observed to be more active than LA children (n = 154) indoors (P < 0.001), but no differences were observed outdoors. HA children were more frequently observed running, crawling, climbing, jumping, skipping, swinging and throwing across the total school day than LA children. Outdoors, HA children participated in more swinging and throwing and less jumping or skipping than LA children. Indoors, HA children spent more time pulling, pushing and running, and less time walking than LA children.
Conclusions:
HA children have unique activity patterns. Further interventions to increase physical activity of all preschoolers should increase the time spent outside and include varied activity types throughout the entire school day.
