Abstract

BackgroundYoung children are not participating in recommended levels of physical activity and exhibit high levels of sedentary behaviour. Childcare services provide access to large numbers of young children for prolonged periods, yet there is limited experimental evidence regarding the effectiveness of physical activity interventions implemented in this setting. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness and acceptability of a multi-component physical activity intervention, delivered by childcare service staff, in increasing the physical activity levels of children attending long day care services.Methods/DesignThe study will employ a cluster randomised controlled trial design. Three hundred children aged between 3-5 years from twenty randomly selected long day care services in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia will be invited to participate in the trial. Ten of the 20 long day care services will be randomly allocated to deliver the intervention with the remaining ten services allocated to a wait list control group. The physical activity intervention will consist of a number of strategies including: delivering structured fundamental movement skill activities, increasing physical activity opportunities, increasing staff role modelling, providing children with a physical activity promoting indoor and outdoor environment and limiting children's small screen recreation and sedentary behaviours. Intervention effectiveness will be measured via child physical activity levels during attendance at long day care. The study also seeks to determine the acceptability and extent of implementation of the intervention by services and their staff participating in the study.DiscussionThe trial will address current gaps in the research evidence base and contribute to the design and delivery of future interventions promoting physical activity for young children in long day care settings.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12610000087055

Highlights

  • Young children are not participating in recommended levels of physical activity and exhibit high levels of sedentary behaviour

  • Research suggests that preschool aged children are not adequately physically active [3,7,8]

  • A recent study found that 44% and 21% of Australian preschool aged children are not sufficiently active on weekdays and weekends respectively [8]

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Summary

Introduction

Young children are not participating in recommended levels of physical activity and exhibit high levels of sedentary behaviour. Childcare services provide access to large numbers of young children for prolonged periods, yet there is limited experimental evidence regarding the effectiveness of physical activity interventions implemented in this setting. Regular physical activity among young children can contribute to social, psychological and fundamental motor skill development, maintain bone health and prevent obesity [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Despite these benefits, research suggests that preschool aged children are not adequately physically active [3,7,8]. Descriptive research suggests that service policies and practices and the physical environment of childcare services are important influences on children’s physical activity behaviours [9,10,11,17]

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