Does Seasonal Changes in Temperature Affect Levels of Vigorous Physical Activity in Preschool-Aged Children?

Abstract

2062 It has been suggested that when assessing physical activity in young children, seasonal changes be controlled in describing differences. Colder temperatures and less daylight hours in the winter are likely to influence the decision of parents and childcare providers in sending preschool-aged children outdoors. PURPOSE: This study focused on comparing the vigorous physical activity (VPA) levels of preschoolaged children during colder (January-March) and warmer seasons (May-July) in the Midwest region of the United States. It is expected that less time will be spent in VPA during the winter months since it is likely less time will be spent outdoors. METHODS: Subjects included 28 children (12 males, 16 females) age 3–5 (mean age 3.82 ± .55 years) from six childcare centers in northeast Iowa. The cold months averaged −2 degrees C (SD = 5.8) daily high, while the warm months averaged 24 degrees C (SD = 4.9). No difference occurred in precipitation between these seasons. The children were objectively assessed for physical activity using Actwatch-16 activity monitors (Sunriver, OR, USA) for three weekdays during each season. VPA was determined by identifying the number of 15s epoch (time intervals) that the child activity counts > 250. From this procedure, the number total minutes were determined for the day. The three days were averaged to determine total minutes per day, and time in VPA at the center and at home. RESULTS: The mean (SD) minutes spent daily in VPA for the cold and warm months were 67.23 (21.65) and 66.48 (25.29) respectively. A dependent t-test indicated no significant difference in daily VPA between cold and warm months (p = 0.865). In addition, dependent t-tests indicated no significant difference between minutes spent in VPA at the center (p = 0.258) and the home (p = 0.398) when comparing cold versus warm months. There was however a significant (p<0.1) moderate correlation between the locations for the cold (r = 0.59) and warm (r = 0.54) months. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore it is concluded that for the preschool-aged children in this region enrolled in these child-care centers, temperature differences between seasons did not impact the level of VPA