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Physical activity and motor skills in children attending 43 preschools: a cross-sectional study
Line Grønholt Olesen1, Peter Lund Kristensen, Mathias Ried-Larsen
1Centre of Research in Childhood Health (RICH), Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark. lgolesen@health.sdu.dk.
Insights
Preschool children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Child Development
- Physical Activity Research
Background:
- Limited data exists on health characteristics and physical activity (PA) patterns in preschool-aged children.
- Understanding gender differences in body mass index (BMI), motor skills (MS), and PA is crucial for early intervention.
- Investigating PA patterns by day type and time of day provides insights into children's daily routines.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe gender differences in BMI, MS, and PA in preschool children.
- To analyze PA patterns based on day type (weekday/weekend) and time of day.
- To estimate the variation in mean PA between different preschools.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 627 children aged 5-6 years from 43 randomly selected preschools in Odense, Denmark.
- Assessment of aiming/catching and motor coordination MS using standardized tests (MABC-2, KTK).
- Measurement of PA using accelerometry and analysis of PA patterns using mixed models.
Main Results:
- No significant gender differences were found in BMI, overall MS risk classification, or average weekly PA levels.
- Boys outperformed girls in aiming/catching and motor coordination, while girls excelled in balance.
- Preschools accounted for 19% of the variance in PA, with girls being more susceptible to the preschool environment for PA.
Conclusions:
- The study provides valuable reference data for monitoring obesity, MS, and PA trends in preschool children.
- Significant between-preschool variation in PA suggests the preschool environment plays a key role, particularly for girls.
- Further research is needed to replicate these findings and explore environmental influences on PA in early childhood.
Background:
Little is known about health characteristics and the physical activity (PA) patterns in children attending preschools. The objective of this study was to describe the gender differences in relation to body mass index (BMI), motor skills (MS) and PA, including PA patterns by the day type and time of day. Additionally, the between-preschool variation in mean PA was estimated using the intraclass correlation.
Methods:
We invited 627 children 5-6 years of age attending 43 randomly selected preschools in Odense, Denmark. Aiming and catching MS was assessed using subtests of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Second Edition) and motor coordination MS was assessed by the Kiphard-Schilling body coordination test, Körperkoordination Test für Kinder. PA was measured using accelerometry. The PA patterns were analysed using mixed models.
Results:
No gender differences in the BMI or norm-referenced MS risk classification, or the average weekly PA level or patterns of PA were observed. However, boys performed better in the aiming and catching score (p < 0.01) and in the motor coordination score (p < 0.05) on average. Girls performed better in the balance subtest (p < 0.001). Relative to the norm-referenced classification of MS, the Danish sample distribution was significantly well for aiming and catching but poorer for the motor coordination test.The total sample and the least active children were most active on weekdays, during preschool time and in the late afternoon at the weekend. However, a relatively larger decrease in PA from preschool to weekday leisure time was observed in children in the lowest PA quartile compared to children in the highest PA quartile. Finally, the preschool accounted for 19% of the total variance in PA, with significant gender differences.
Conclusions:
Results of this study could provide a valuable reference material for studies monitoring future trends in obesity, MS and PA behaviour in Denmark and other countries.Knowledge about sources of variation in PA among preschool children is scarce and our findings need to be replicated in future studies. A potentially important finding is the large between-preschool variation in PA, indicating that especially girls are very susceptible to the environment offered for PA during preschool attendance.
