Pate Russell R, Pfeiffer Karin A, Trost Stewart G, Ziegler Paula, Dowda Marsha
Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
Pediatrics. 2004 Nov;114(5):1258-63. doi: 10.1542/peds.2003-1088-L.
Obesity rates are increasing among children of all ages, and reduced physical activity is a likely contributor to this trend. Little is known about the physical activity behavior of preschool-aged children or about the influence of preschool attendance on physical activity. The purpose of this study was to describe the physical activity levels of children while they attend preschools, to identify the demographic factors that might be associated with physical activity among those children, and to determine the extent to which children's physical activity varies among preschools.
A total of 281 children from 9 preschools wore an Actigraph (Fort Walton Beach, FL) accelerometer for an average of 4.4 hours per day for an average of 6.6 days. Each child's height and weight were measured, and parents of participating children provided demographic and education data.
The preschool that a child attended was a significant predictor of vigorous physical activity (VPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Boys participated in significantly more MVPA and VPA than did girls, and black children participated in more VPA than did white children. Age was not a significant predictor of MVPA or VPA.
Children's physical activity levels were highly variable among preschools, which suggests that preschool policies and practices have an important influence on the overall activity levels of the children the preschools serve.
各年龄段儿童的肥胖率都在上升，而体力活动减少可能是导致这一趋势的原因之一。对于学龄前儿童的体力活动行为以及学前教育对体力活动的影响，我们知之甚少。本研究的目的是描述儿童在幼儿园期间的体力活动水平，确定可能与这些儿童体力活动相关的人口统计学因素，并确定不同幼儿园儿童的体力活动差异程度。
来自9所幼儿园的281名儿童佩戴了Actigraph（佛罗里达州沃尔顿堡滩）加速度计，平均每天佩戴4.4小时，平均佩戴6.6天。测量了每个儿童的身高和体重，参与研究儿童的家长提供了人口统计学和教育数据。
儿童所在的幼儿园是剧烈体力活动（VPA）和中度至剧烈体力活动（MVPA）的重要预测因素。男孩参与的MVPA和VPA显著多于女孩，黑人儿童参与的VPA多于白人儿童。年龄不是MVPA或VPA的显著预测因素。
不同幼儿园儿童的体力活动水平差异很大，这表明幼儿园的政策和做法对其所服务儿童的总体活动水平有重要影响。
