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Effects of a Preschool Intervention on Physical Activity and Body Composition
Kristi Bree Adamo1, Niko Sebastian Wasenius2, Kimberly Paige Grattan3
1School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Healthy Active Living and Obesity (HALO) Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Insights
A preschool physical activity intervention in childcare settings, with or without parent involvement, did not significantly change children's physical activity, sedentary time, or body composition over six months.
Area of Science:
- Child Health
- Pediatric Exercise Science
- Public Health Interventions
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing concern, necessitating effective interventions.
- Preschool years are a critical period for establishing lifelong physical activity habits.
- Childcare settings offer a promising environment for implementing health promotion programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a preschool physical activity intervention in licensed childcare settings.
- To assess the impact of the intervention, with and without a parent-facilitated home component, on children's physical activity, sedentary time, and body composition.
Main Methods:
- Cluster randomized controlled trial involving 18 childcare centers.
- Centers were allocated to: typical curriculum, childcare intervention alone (CC), or CC with parental involvement.
- Physical activity and sedentary time were measured using accelerometers; body composition by bioelectrical impedance.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were observed between the groups in changes in total, moderate-to-vigorous, or light physical activity from baseline to 6 months.
- No significant group differences were found for changes in sedentary time or anthropometric variables (body composition).
Conclusions:
- An affordable and scalable preschool physical activity intervention delivered in childcare settings, even with added parent involvement, did not significantly impact children's physical activity, sedentary time, or body composition.
- Further research may be needed to identify more effective strategies for promoting physical activity in early childhood settings.
Objective:
To investigate the effect of a preschool physical activity intervention program delivered in licensed childcare settings, with or without a parent-facilitated home component, on children's daily physical activity, sedentary time, and body composition.
Study Design:
For this cluster randomized controlled trial, 18 childcare centers were randomly allocated in equal numbers to the typical curriculum comparison group, childcare intervention alone (CC), or childcare intervention with parental involvement. Accelerometers were used to asses physical activity and sedentary time, and body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance.
Results:
Linear mixed model regression analyses showed no differences between the CC, the childcare intervention with parental involvement, and the comparison groups in changes from baseline to 6 months in total physical activity (P for time × group interaction = .665) or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (P for time × group interaction = .164) when adjusted for baseline physical activity levels. Furthermore, no group differences were found for changes in light physical activity, sedentary time, or anthropometric variables.
Conclusions:
An affordable and easily scalable preschool intervention program delivered in licensed childcare settings, with or without the addition of a parent-driven home physical activity promotion, seems to have no significant effect on physical activity, sedentary time, or body composition.
Trial Registration:
ISRCTN: ISRCTN94022291.
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