Observational studyThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2016
Preschool and childcare center characteristics associated with children's physical activity during care hours: an observational study.
Observational study in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Physical Activity Levels of Early Childhood Educators: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Child: care, health and development · 2026Pooled it
- Environmental and practice factors associated with children's device-measured physical activity and sedentary time in early childhood education and care centres: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Relationship Between the Physical Environment and Physical Activity Levels in Preschool Children: A Systematic Review.Current environmental health reports · 2021Pooled it
- 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 · 2020Pooled it
- A systematic review of the implementation of obesity prevention interventions in early childcare and education settings using the RE-AIM framework.Translational behavioral medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Physical activity and sedentary time among preschoolers in centre-based childcare: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2018Pooled it
- Structured Activity and Free Outdoor Play in Early Childhood Education and Care: An OSRAC-P Observational Study of Physical Activity Intensity and Context.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Kindergarten Affordances for Physical Activity and Preschoolers' Motor and Social-Emotional Competence.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Association between 24-hour movement behaviors and health-related quality of life in children.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2022Article
- Which Meso-Level Characteristics of Early Childhood Education and Care Centers Are Associated with Health, Health Behavior, and Well-Being of Young Children? Findings of a Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- An Exploration of Child-Staff Interactions That Promote Physical Activity in Pre-School.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
- The Effects of a Comprehensive, Integrated Obesity Prevention Intervention Approach (SuperFIT) on Children's Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and BMI Z-Score.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Greenspace, physical activity, and BMI in children from two cities in northern Mexico.Preventive medicine reports · 2019Article
- Physical Activity and Mobile Phone Apps in the Preschool Age: Perceptions of Teachers and Parents.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2019Article
- Preschool Environmental Factors, Parental Socioeconomic Status, and Children's Sedentary Time: An Examination of Cross-Level Interactions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
- Activating Childcare Environments for All Children: the Importance of Children's Individual Needs.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
- Physical activity and sedentary behavior legislation in Canadian childcare facilities: an update.BMC public health · 2018Review
- Childcare Correlates of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Adiposity in Preschool Children: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the SPLASHY Study.Journal of environmental and public health · 2018Article
- "Oh oobe doo, I wanna be like you" associations between physical activity of preschool staff and preschool children.PloS one · 2018Article
- Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPreschools and childcare settings offer opportunities to promote adequate levels of physical activity. Research is needed to identify the key features of these settings to optimize young children's activity. The aims of this study were to determine if differences existed in preschool children's physical activity during care hours compared with outside care hours and to examine a comprehensive range of potential center-based correlates of physical activity for preschool boys and girls.
methodsData are from the Healthy Active Preschool and Primary Years study: 71 childcare centers, 65 preschools and 1002 preschool children. Percent of time in total (light- to vigorous-intensity) physical activity was measured using Actigraph GT1M accelerometers. Center physical environment characteristics, policies and practices were assessed by trained research staff using comprehensive audit tools. Data were collected in 2008/9 and were analyzed separately for boys and girls in Stata using multilevel mixed effects models.
resultsBoys and girls were less active during care than outside care hours (51.1 % vs. 52.4 %, p = 0.01; 48.0 % vs. 51.5 %, p < 0.0001, respectively). In the final adjusted models, number of outdoor spaces with natural ground coverings was associated with boys' physical activity (coeff = 0.477, 95 % CI 0.089, 0.867) and the amount of time girls spent indoors before going outdoors was inversely associated with their physical activity (coeff = -0.035, 95 % CI -0.065, -0.004). The models explained 12 and 10 % of boys' and girls' physical activity during care hours, respectively.
conclusionsThis study identified that children are significantly less active during than outside care hours. Few center-based correlates of preschool children's physical activity were identified. Future research should explore other aspects of centers, such as what children actually do while they are outside, and broader potential influences on children's behaviours including social, cultural and policy contexts within which centers operate.
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