Play Activities Are Associated with Force Regulation in Primary School

The daily exercise habits and play activities of children are known to have a significant impact on the development of body control. However, previous studies have not adequately explored the correlation between force regulation during submaximal visual effort, exercise, and play experience. This study aimed to examine the correlation between exercise habits and play experience and their impact on the ability to regulate force. This study involved 23 children with an average age of 9.2 ± 1.0 years. The participants were required to match their force exertion during submaximal effort to a varying demand value displayed in a sinusoidal pattern on a screen (controlled force exertion, CFE). Individual interviews were conducted to gather information on the exercise experience (time, frequency, and duration) and play activities (number of experiences and frequency). Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the association among exercise experience, play activity, and CFE. The results indicated that the amount of exercise experience was not significantly associated with CFE (β = -0.203, p = 0.254). However, in terms of play activities, the number of play experiences was associated with CFE (β = -0.321, p = 0.038). On the contrary, play frequency was not significantly associated with CFE (β = -0.219, p = 0.191). These findings suggest that play activities are effective in improving force regulation during childhood and that a greater variety of play experiences may be important.