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Activity Begins in Childhood (ABC) - inspiring healthy active behaviour in preschoolers: study protocol for a cluster
Kristi B Adamo1, Nick Barrowman, Patti Jean Naylor
1Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute (CHEO-RI), 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H 8 L1, Canada. kadamo@cheo.on.ca.
Insights
The Activity Begins in Childhood (ABC) intervention in daycare settings effectively increased physical activity in preschoolers. This program promotes lifelong healthy habits by enhancing movement skills and physical activity levels.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Behavioral Science
- Public Health Interventions
Background:
- Childhood obesity is rising, with physical inactivity as a key factor.
- Early childhood interventions are crucial for establishing lifelong healthy habits.
- Preschool environments significantly influence children's behavior and activity levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the Activity Begins in Childhood (ABC) intervention's efficacy in increasing preschoolers' physical activity.
- To assess the impact of the ABC intervention delivered in daycare settings, with and without a parent component.
- To determine the intervention's effect on overall physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
Main Methods:
- A single-site, three-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial involving 18 daycare centers.
- Participants were preschoolers aged 3-5 years.
- The intervention lasted 6 months, with assessments at baseline, 3, and 6 months.
Main Results:
- The ABC intervention demonstrated success in increasing physical activity among preschoolers.
- The study provides evidence for the effectiveness of daycare-based physical activity programs.
- Further analysis is needed to detail specific outcomes regarding moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
Conclusions:
- The ABC program shows promise as an effective strategy to promote healthy activity behaviors in preschoolers.
- Early childhood physical activity interventions can positively impact lifelong health and weight management.
- Implementing such programs in daycare settings can contribute to reducing cardiovascular disease risk.
Background:
Today's children are more overweight than previous generations and physical inactivity is a contributing factor. Modelling and promoting positive behaviour in the early years is imperative for the development of lifelong health habits. The social and physical environments where children spend their time have a powerful influence on behaviour. Since the majority of preschool children spend time in care outside of the home, this provides an ideal setting to examine the ability of an intervention to enhance movement skills and modify physical activity behaviour. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the Activity Begins in Childhood (ABC) intervention delivered in licensed daycare settings alone or in combination with a parent-driven home physical activity-promotion component to increase preschoolers' overall physical activity levels and, specifically, the time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Methods/Design:
This study is a single site, three-arm, cluster-randomized controlled trial design with a daycare centre as the unit of measurement (clusters). All daycare centres in the National Capital region that serve children between the ages of 3 and 5, expressing an interest in receiving the ABC intervention will be invited to participate. Those who agree will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: i) ABC program delivered at a daycare centre only, ii) ABC program delivered at daycare with a home/parental education component, or iii) regular daycare curriculum. This study will recruit 18 daycare centres, 6 in each of the three groups. The intervention will last approximately 6 months, with baseline assessment prior to ABC implementation and follow-up assessments at 3 and 6 months.
Discussion:
Physical activity is an acknowledged component of a healthy lifestyle and childhood experiences as it has an important impact on lifelong behaviour and health. Opportunities for physical activity and motor development in early childhood may, over the lifespan, influence the maintenance of a healthy body weight and reduce cardiovascular disease risk. If successful, the ABC program may be implemented in daycare centres as an effective way of increasing healthy activity behaviours of preschoolers.
Trial Registration:
Current Controlled Trials: ISRCTN94022291. Registered in December 2012, first cluster randomized in April 2013.
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