Correlates of objectively measured physical activity in 5-6-year-old preschool children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Environmental Health
• Child Development

Background:

• Understanding physical activity correlates in early childhood is crucial for public health interventions.
• Socioecological models provide a framework for examining influences on physical activity at multiple levels.
• Gender-specific factors may influence physical activity patterns in preschool-aged children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify gender-specific correlates of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in Danish preschool children.
• To explore associations between child MVPA and factors across individual, social, and environmental domains.
• To apply a socioecological approach to understand physical activity determinants in early childhood.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study in Odense, Denmark, involving 174 boys and 177 girls (5-6 years old).
• Objective measurement of moderate and vigorously physical activity (MVPA) using ActiGraph accelerometers over 7 days.
• Analysis of 39 potential correlates across 5 domains, with gender-specific statistical models.

Main Results:

• Motor coordination and parental perception of child's activity preferences positively correlated with MVPA for both genders.
• Negative associations with MVPA were found for days with rain or no preschool attendance.
• Gender-specific environmental correlates included rural setting and playground size for boys, and age and indoor area for girls.

Conclusions:

• Identified individual and environmental correlates of MVPA in preschool children, though many showed weak associations.
• Suggests that social interactions with peers and adults may be significant, yet unmeasured, contributors to child MVPA.
• Highlights the complexity of physical activity determinants, emphasizing the need for gender-sensitive and context-specific strategies.