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Total Play Time Needed for Preschoolers to Reach Recommended Amount of Non-Sedentary Activity
Andrew E Koepp1, Elizabeth T Gershoff1, Darla M Castelli2
1Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Insights
Preschoolers need outdoor play to meet daily physical activity guidelines. Indoor play alone is insufficient; at least 30 minutes of outdoor activity is crucial for young children’s health.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Childhood Physical Activity
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Current health guidelines recommend 3 hours of daily physical activity for preschoolers.
- It remains unclear how much time is needed to achieve this due to children's intermittent activity patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the necessary duration of indoor and outdoor free-play for preschoolers to meet physical activity recommendations.
- To analyze activity patterns during free-play in young children.
Main Methods:
- A naturalistic study involving 67 preschoolers (average age 4.5 years) wearing accelerometers.
- Activity levels were measured during indoor and outdoor free-play sessions, totaling over 315,000 seconds of data.
- Analysis focused on time spent in physical activity and the frequency of activity bouts.
Main Results:
- One hour of indoor free-play was insufficient for most children to reach the recommended 15 minutes of physical activity.
- Children achieved 15 minutes of physical activity in slightly over 30 minutes of outdoor play.
- Physical activity was sporadic, with most activity occurring in short bursts under 20 seconds.
Conclusions:
- Indoor free-play alone does not provide adequate opportunities for preschoolers to meet physical activity guidelines.
- Sustained outdoor play, for at least 30 minutes, is essential for children to achieve recommended physical activity levels.
- Encouraging longer outdoor play sessions is vital for adhering to public health recommendations for early childhood physical activity.
Abstract:
Health guidelines suggest that caregivers provide preschoolers with opportunities to be physically active for 3 h per day (roughly 15 min per waking hour), but because children are not continuously active, it is unclear what amount of time is needed to reach this goal. This naturalistic study enrolled 67 children (M = 4.5 years, 46% female) who wore accelerometers to measure their activity during indoor and outdoor free -play (N = 315,061 s). An hour of indoor play was insufficient for most children to reach 15 min of physical activity. When outside, most children reached 15 min of physical activity after slightly more than 30 min. Children engaged in outdoor activity sporadically (1.7 starts/stops per minute). Most physical activity occurred in bouts shorter than 20 s. Indoor free-play does not, on its own, provide sufficient opportunity for preschoolers to engage in physical activity consistent with health guidelines. As a result, outdoor play for at least 30 min at a time has a key role in meeting these guidelines.
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