Abstract
BackgroundLittle is known about health characteristics and the physical activity (PA) patterns in children attending preschools. The objective of this study was to describe the gender differences in relation to body mass index (BMI), motor skills (MS) and PA, including PA patterns by the day type and time of day. Additionally, the between-preschool variation in mean PA was estimated using the intraclass correlation.MethodsWe invited 627 children 5–6 years of age attending 43 randomly selected preschools in Odense, Denmark. Aiming and catching MS was assessed using subtests of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Second Edition) and motor coordination MS was assessed by the Kiphard-Schilling body coordination test, Körperkoordination Test für Kinder. PA was measured using accelerometry. The PA patterns were analysed using mixed models.ResultsNo gender differences in the BMI or norm-referenced MS risk classification, or the average weekly PA level or patterns of PA were observed. However, boys performed better in the aiming and catching score (p < 0.01) and in the motor coordination score (p < 0.05) on average. Girls performed better in the balance subtest (p < 0.001). Relative to the norm-referenced classification of MS, the Danish sample distribution was significantly well for aiming and catching but poorer for the motor coordination test.The total sample and the least active children were most active on weekdays, during preschool time and in the late afternoon at the weekend. However, a relatively larger decrease in PA from preschool to weekday leisure time was observed in children in the lowest PA quartile compared to children in the highest PA quartile. Finally, the preschool accounted for 19% of the total variance in PA, with significant gender differences.ConclusionsResults of this study could provide a valuable reference material for studies monitoring future trends in obesity, MS and PA behaviour in Denmark and other countries.Knowledge about sources of variation in PA among preschool children is scarce and our findings need to be replicated in future studies. A potentially important finding is the large between-preschool variation in PA, indicating that especially girls are very susceptible to the environment offered for PA during preschool attendance.
Highlights
Little is known about health characteristics and the physical activity (PA) patterns in children attending preschools
No gender differences were identified for age, height, body weight and body mass index (BMI)
Irrespective of gender, Danish preschool children perform well in aiming and catching, but, similar to other countries, poorer in motor coordination compared to norm-referenced data
Summary
Little is known about health characteristics and the physical activity (PA) patterns in children attending preschools. There is increasing evidence of a positive link between health outcomes such as obesity, motor skills (MS) and physical activity (PA) in preschool-aged children [1]. A large proportion of preschool children are not sufficiently physically active [2], even during preschool attendance [3,4]. In the Danish preschools, there is equal focus on children’s independent play, planned learning by activities and practicing everyday life [6,7]. Since 2004, the aspect of learning through theory-based curricular strategies (learning plans) has been signed into the Danish legislation [6], and motor development and physical activity have been topics of focus
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