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Subjectively and objectively assessed social and physical environmental correlates of preschoolers'
Michael Eichinger1,2, Sven Schneider3, Freia De Bock3,4
1Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Ludolf-Krehl-Strasse 7-11, 68167, Mannheim, Germany. michael.eichinger@medma.uni-heidelberg.de.
Insights
Parental perceptions of traffic safety and organized sports participation are linked to preschoolers' physical activity (PA). Targeting these subjective factors may improve public health strategies for promoting PA in young children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Public Health
- Environmental Health
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Overweight and low physical activity (PA) are significant public health issues in preschoolers.
- Limited research exists on subjective and objective correlates of PA across socioecological domains in this age group.
- This study investigates associations between objectively measured PA and various environmental correlates in preschoolers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To simultaneously examine associations between preschoolers' objectively measured leisure-time PA and a comprehensive set of subjective and objective correlates.
- To explore these correlates across behavioral, social, and physical environmental domains at both family and community levels.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study involving 735 preschoolers (3-6 years) from 52 preschools in Southern Germany.
- Objective measurement of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and total PA (TPA) using accelerometry and heart rate monitoring.
- Subjective (parent proxy-report) and objective assessments of family- and community-level correlates, analyzed using multilevel regression models.
Main Results:
- No objective social or physical environmental factors were associated with PA.
- Subjective parental perceptions of traffic safety positively correlated with MVPA and TPA on weekends.
- Preschoolers' participation in organized sports was positively associated with MVPA and TPA.
Conclusions:
- Subjective parental perceptions of environmental factors and family-level correlates (e.g., traffic safety, organized sports) are more central to preschooler PA than objective community-level features.
- Targeting parental perceptions and parental support for PA may be effective public health strategies for preschoolers.
- Findings suggest focusing on proximal, subjective factors for promoting physical activity in early childhood.
Background:
Overweight and low levels of physical activity (PA) in preschoolers are major public health concerns. However, to date only few studies have investigated subjective and objective correlates of PA across different socioecological domains in preschoolers. We therefore simultaneously investigate associations between preschoolers' objectively measured leisure-time PA and a comprehensive set of subjective and objective potential PA correlates across the behavioral, social and physical environmental domains on both family- and community-level.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and total PA (TPA) were measured by combined accelerometry and heart rate monitoring in 735 3-6 year-old children from 52 preschools in Southern Germany. Family- and community-level potential correlates of PA from different domains (behavioral, social and physical environmental) were subjectively (i.e. by parent proxy-report) and objectively assessed. Their associations with PA on weekend days and weekday afternoons were tested by covariate-adjusted multilevel regression models.
Results:
While none of the objective social and physical environmental factors showed associations with PA, subjective parental traffic safety perceptions were positively associated with MVPA and TPA on weekends. Also, preschoolers' participation in organized sports was positively correlated with MVPA (on weekends) and TPA (both on weekends and weekday afternoons).
Conclusion:
Subjective traffic safety perceptions and participation in organized sports, an indicator and a result of parental support towards PA - i.e. subjective parental perceptions of environmental factors and family-level correlates which are more proximal to preschoolers - might be more central to PA in preschool age than objectively assessed community-level environmental features which tend to be more distal correlates. If replicable, targeting parental perceptions of environmental factors and parental support for PA in preschool age might be powerful leverages for public health policy.
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