The Associations between Outdoor Playtime, Screen-Viewing Time, and Environmental Factors in Chinese Young Children: The "Eat, Be Active and Sleep Well" Study.

Qiang Wang,Jiameng Ma,Hyunshik Kim,Akira Maehashi

doi:10.3390/ijerph17134867

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify regional differences in outdoor activity time and screen-viewing time of preschool children in urban and rural areas and to provide data on the environmental factors to identify modifiable determinants for each region. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1772 out of 2790 children between the age of 3 to 6 years living in northern China, with their consent. A cross-sectional study was conducted among preschool children living in urban (n = 1114) and rural areas (n = 658) in northern China. To assess environmental factors, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used for neighborhood environments, and the questionnaire included three items each for the physical home environment and socio-cultural environment domains. We observed the associations between outdoor play for urban children and sidewalks in the neighborhood, paths for cycles, aesthetic qualities, and “motor vehicles. In addition, in rural areas, screen-viewing time and environmental factors were found to be positively correlated with traffic, limited place and method of outdoor play, and were negatively correlated with the importance of academics and need for company in outdoor play. This has important implications for the development of effective intervention programs for preschool children in China in the future.

Highlights

Regular, appropriate outdoor play is an important health-related factor that promotes physical, mental, and social growth in young children [1,2,3]
Outdoor playtime was higher in children living in urban areas whereas screen-viewing time tended to be higher in those living in rural areas
We found that outdoor playtime was significantly associated with neighborhood environment and socio-cultural home environment, even after adjusting for sex and age

Summary

Introduction

Appropriate outdoor play is an important health-related factor that promotes physical, mental, and social growth in young children [1,2,3]. Since it involves higher energy costs compared to resting but lower than exercising [4], the amount of time spent outdoors can be used to evaluate the level of physical activity in young, preschool children and is very important [5]. Previous studies reported that outdoor play, in which children can interact with nature, yields favorable health-related outcomes, such as improved physical abilities and high levels of physical activity in preschool children [9,10]. Changes in surrounding environments and life habits have led to increases in screen-viewing time and decreases in outdoor play

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion