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Associations Between the Child Care Environment and Children's In-Care Physical Activity and Sedentary Time
Zhiguang Zhang1, Nicholas Kuzik1, Kristi B Adamo2
1University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Insights
Child care environments impact children's physical activity. Higher quality child care settings, especially those with good curriculum and outdoor spaces, are linked to increased physical activity and reduced sedentary time in preschoolers.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Child Development
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Child care settings play a crucial role in shaping children's behaviors and health habits.
- Understanding the impact of the child care environment on physical activity is vital for promoting healthy development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between child care environmental characteristics and children's physical activity and sedentary time.
- To identify specific environmental factors within child care settings that influence physical activity levels and sedentary behavior.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study involving 124 toddlers and 118 preschoolers from 19 child care centers in Canada.
- Objective measurement of in-care physical activity and sedentary time using Actigraph accelerometers.
- Comprehensive assessment of child care environments using validated instruments for structure and process quality.
Main Results:
- Specific structural quality characteristics (e.g., indoor environment, policies) were associated with increased physical activity and decreased sedentary time in toddlers.
- Overall structure and process quality in child care environments were linked to higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in preschoolers.
- Preschooler physical activity and reduced sedentary time were associated with outdoor environment quality, physical activity time, and curriculum/pedagogy.
Conclusions:
- The influence of child care structural quality on physical activity and sedentary behavior may differ between age groups.
- Enhancing process quality, particularly curriculum and pedagogical approaches, in child care settings can promote physical activity in preschoolers.
Background:
Child care centers are important for children's behaviors.
Aims:
To examine the cross-sectional associations between child care environmental characteristics and physical activity and sedentary time in children.
Methods:
Participants were 124 toddlers and 118 preschoolers from 19 centers in Alberta and Ontario, Canada, in the supporting Healthy physical AcTive CHildcare setting (HATCH) study. In-care physical activity and sedentary time were assessed using Actigraph accelerometers. Child care environments, including structure (e.g., resources) and process (e.g., activities) quality, were measured using three instruments: (1) the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation and (2) the Children's Physical Environments Rating Scale, and (iii) the Movement Environment Rating Scale. Mixed models were performed to examine the associations between environmental characteristics and children's sedentary time, light physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
Results:
A few structure quality characteristics related to child care policy and indoor environment were associated with higher physical activity and lower sedentary time in toddlers. The overall structure quality (B = 0.04; 95% CI [0.003, 0.08]) and process quality (B = 0.08; 95% CI [0.02, 0.15]) of the child care environment were associated with log moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in preschoolers. Specifically, structure quality characteristics of the outdoor environment and physical activity time, and process quality characteristics relevant to curriculum and pedagogy, were associated with higher physical activity and lower sedentary time in preschoolers.
Discussion And Conclusion:
The child care structure quality characteristics that are important for children' physical activity and sedentary behavior may vary by age group. Improving the overall process quality, in particular curriculum and pedagogy, of the child care environment, may promote more physical activity in preschoolers.
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