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Step based physical activity guidelines for preschool-aged children
Susana Vale1, Stewart G Trost2, Michael J Duncan3
1Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Portugal; Department of Sport Science. High School of Education, Polytechnic Institute of Oporto, Portugal.
Insights
Preschool children need 3 hours of daily physical activity (PA). This study found that fewer than 9000 steps per day indicates insufficient PA for young children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physical activity
- Public health recommendations
- Objective measurement tools
Background:
- Public health guidelines recommend 3 hours of daily physical activity (PA) for preschoolers.
- Objective monitoring of PA in preschoolers is crucial for assessing adherence to recommendations.
- Pedometers and accelerometers offer reliable methods for measuring children's PA levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish step-based physical activity recommendations for preschool-aged children.
- To determine a daily step count threshold equivalent to 3 hours of moderate-to-vigorous PA.
- To provide objective criteria for assessing PA compliance in young children.
Main Methods:
- A sample of 916 preschool children (aged 3-6 years) from Portugal participated.
- Children wore ActiGraph GT1M accelerometers for 7 days to measure PA intensity and steps.
- Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis identified the optimal daily step count threshold.
Main Results:
- A strong positive correlation (r=0.76, p<0.001) was found between total PA minutes and daily steps.
- The optimal threshold for achieving ≥3 hours of PA was 9099 steps per day.
- The ROC analysis showed an area under the curve of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.84 to 0.88).
Conclusions:
- Preschool children accumulating less than 9000 steps daily are likely insufficiently active.
- This step-based recommendation provides a practical tool for public health monitoring.
- The findings support the use of pedometers to assess PA in early childhood.
Objective:
Public health organizations recommend that preschool-aged children accumulate at least 3h of physical activity (PA) daily. Objective monitoring using pedometers offers an opportunity to measure preschooler's PA and assess compliance with this recommendation. The purpose of this study was to derive step-based recommendations consistent with the 3h PA recommendation for preschool-aged children.
Method:
The study sample comprised 916 preschool-aged children, aged 3 to 6years (mean age=5.0±0.8years). Children were recruited from kindergartens located in Portugal, between 2009 and 2013. Children wore an ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer that measured PA intensity and steps per day simultaneously over a 7-day monitoring period. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to identify the daily step count threshold associated with meeting the daily 3hour PA recommendation.
Results:
A significant correlation was observed between minutes of total PA and steps per day (r=0.76, p<0.001). The optimal step count for ≥3h of total PA was 9099 steps per day (sensitivity (90%) and specificity (66%)) with area under the ROC curve=0.86 (95% CI: 0.84 to 0.88).
Conclusion:
Preschool-aged children who accumulate less than 9000 steps per day may be considered Insufficiently Active.
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