Physical Activity Levels of Children attending Family Child Care Homes

Abstract

Family Child Care Homes (FCCH's) are the second largest provider of non-relative care in the U.S. However, despite providing care for nearly 1.9 million children under the age of 5, little is known about the physical activity (PA) levels of children attending FCCHs. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to objectively measure PA levels in 2- to 5-year-old children attending FCCHs in 5 counties in western Oregon. METHODS: 205 children (50.2% male) between the ages of 2 and 5 (mean age = 3.4 ± 1.2 yrs) from 53 FCCHs wore an ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer for the duration of their time in care for 1-week. Accelerometers were removed during naptime and providers noted the times monitors were put on and taken off throughout the day. Time spent in sedentary (SED), light (LPA), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), and light- moderate-vigorous PA (LMVPA) was calculated using the intensity-related cut-points developed by Pate et al. (2006). Resp RESULTS: Physical activity levels per hour of child attendance (excluding nap time), were as follows: 26.3 ± 6.2 min of SED (male = 24.9 ± 1.0 and female = 27.4 ± 0.9), 24.2 ± 3.8 min of LPA (male = 24.1 ± 0.6 and female = 23.6 ± 0.5), 9.4 ± 4.3 min of MVPA (male = 11.2 ± 0.7 and female = 8.9 ± 0.6), and 33.7 ± 6.2 min of LMVPA (male = 35.1 ± 0.9 and female = 32.6 ± 0.9). 25.7% (23.8% female and 27.4% male) of children met the physical activity recommendation of 60 minutes of MVPA per day. Overweight (OW) and non-overweight (N-OW) children exhibited similar levels of MVPA, with the exception of OW 4 y olds, for whom MVPA were significantly lower than their N-OW counterparts. Among N-OW children, MVPA levels were significantly higher among children age 4 y than children aged 2, 3, or 5 y. No age-related differences in MVPA were observed among overweight children. (OW: 2y = 9.7 ± 1.4, 3y = 9.8 ± 1.5, 4y = 8.5 ± 1.3, 5y = 10.7 ± 1.7; N-OW: 2y = 7.9 ± 0.9, 3y = 10.5 ± 0.8, 4y = 12.4 ± 0.9, 5y = 11.0 ± 1.7) CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a significant percentage of children attending FCCH do not meet PA guidelines for preschool children. Interventions are needed to increase physical activity in this population. National Institute of Food and Agriculture Grant 2008-04423