Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26803357›Full record

Trial reportAmerican journal of preventive medicine2016

An Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial With 4-Year-Olds in Preschools.

Russell R Pate, William H Brown, Karin A Pfeiffer, Erin K Howie, Ruth P Saunders, Cheryl L Addy, Marsha Dowda

Open access · bronzeAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in American journal of preventive medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
80citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
24.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

80 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 142 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 2 to 4 years old.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Pooled it
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  7. Physical activity and sedentary time of youth in structured settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2020
    Pooled it
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  11. Physical activity and sedentary time among preschoolers in centre-based childcare: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2018
    Pooled it
  12. Trial
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  16. Promoting glycemic control in young children with type I diabetes: Results from a pilot intervention for parents.Families, systems & health : the journal of collaborative family healthcare · 2022
    Trial
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  19. Intervention Strategies to Elicit MVPA in Preschoolers during Outdoor Play.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020
    Trial
  20. Trial

20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Russell R PateDepartment of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina. Electronic address: rpate@mailbox.sc.edu.
William H BrownDepartment of Educational Studies, College of Education, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
Karin A PfeifferDepartment of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
Erin K HowieDepartment of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
Ruth P SaundersDepartment of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
Cheryl L AddyDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
Marsha DowdaDepartment of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
University of South Carolina · USMichigan State University · USSouth Carolina Department of Education · US

Funding

Multi-component intervention to increase physical activity in preschool childrenR01HD055451 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · PI PATE, RUSSELL R · 2008 to 2011
$2.4M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD055451
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionA majority of preschool-aged children spend a significant portion of every weekday in a preschool or child care setting, where they typically participate in limited physical activity. This study determined if an ecologic physical activity intervention in preschools increases children's moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA).

designRCT, with preschool as the unit of randomization and analysis. Child physical activity was measured by accelerometry. Mixed model analysis of covariance with preschool as a random variable was used to test the effects of the intervention on physical activity in the total group and in sex-specific subgroups. Data were collected in 2008-2010 and analyzed in 2012-2014. SETTING/

participantsChildren in 4-year-olds' classrooms in 16 preschools, pair matched and assigned to intervention or control groups.

interventionThe intervention focused on increasing children's physical activity by changing instructional practices. Researchers trained preschool teachers to engage children in physical activity during (1) structured, teacher-led physical activity opportunities in the classroom; (2) structured and unstructured physical activity opportunities at recess; and (3) physical activity integrated into pre-academic lessons. Research staff encouraged teachers to adapt the intervention to their classrooms.

main outcome measuresMinutes/hour of MVPA during the preschool day.

resultsIn an analytic sample of 379 children (188 intervention, 191 control), those in the intervention schools engaged in significantly more MVPA than children in control schools (7.4 and 6.6 minutes/hour, respectively). This difference remained significant after adjusting for parent education and length of the school day (half versus full day). In the sex-specific analyses, the difference was significant for girls (6.8 vs 6.1 minutes/hour of MVPA, respectively) but not for boys (7.9 vs 7.2 minutes/hour, respectively).

conclusionsA flexible ecologic physical activity intervention that trains teachers to provide children with opportunities to be active throughout the school day increased MVPA in preschool children.

Indexed as

Health PromotionSchoolsAccelerometryChild, PreschoolExerciseFemaleHumansMaleSex Factors

Identifiers

PMID26803357
PMCPMC4914452
OpenAlexW2274804584

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.