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Distinct Methods for Assessing Compliance With a Physical Activity Guideline for Children in Preschools
Insights
Preschool children meet the daily physical activity (PA) guideline on average, but not consistently every day. Evaluating PA compliance requires both average and everyday methods for accurate assessment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Exercise Science
- Public Health
Background:
- US Institute of Medicine recommends preschool children achieve ≥15 minutes of physical activity (PA) per hour.
- Previous compliance studies averaged PA over several days, potentially masking daily variations.
- This study introduces two methods to assess PA guideline adherence: average minutes per hour and percentage of days met.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine physical activity (PA) guideline compliance in preschool children.
- To compare the 'average method' (minutes per hour) with the 'everyday method' (percentage of days met).
- To provide a more accurate portrayal of PA guideline adherence.
Main Methods:
- 177 preschool children (59.3% males, mean age 4.23 years) wore accelerometers for up to 10 days.
- Calculated minutes per hour and percentage of time in light, moderate-to-vigorous, and total PAs.
- Determined compliance by the percentage of days the PA guideline (≥15 min/h) was met.
Main Results:
- Children averaged 17.01 minutes of PA per hour, indicating average guideline adherence.
- However, children only met the PA guideline on 62.41% of the assessment days.
- Significant discrepancy observed between average compliance and everyday compliance.
Conclusions:
- Findings highlight the necessity of using both average and everyday methods for assessing PA guideline compliance.
- Accurate assessment of physical activity in preschoolers requires considering daily adherence patterns.
- This dual-approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of children's physical activity levels.
Background:
According to the US Institute of Medicine guideline, preschool-aged children should participate in ≥15 minutes of physical activity (PA) per hour or 3 hours per day over 12 hours. Examinations of PA guideline compliance to date averaged time spent in PA over several days; however, children could exceed the guideline on some days and not on others. Therefore, this cross-sectional study examined PA guideline compliance in preschool children based on number of minutes per hour (average method) and percentage of days the guideline was met (everyday method).
Methods:
PA was measured by accelerometry during the preschool day for up to 10 days in 177 children (59.3% males, Mage = 4.23). Minutes per hour and percentage of time in light, moderate to vigorous, and total PAs were calculated. Percentage of days in compliance was determined by number of days in compliance (defined as the child active on average ≥15 min/h) divided by total accelerometer days.
Results:
Children engaged in PA, on average, 17.01 minutes per hour, suggesting that on average, children are meeting the guideline. However, children were only in compliance with the PA guideline 62.41% of assessment days.
Conclusions:
Findings demonstrate the importance of examining compliance with both the average and everyday methods to more accurately portray level of Institute of Medicine PA guideline compliance.
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