FACTORS RELATED TO DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Pfeiffer, K.A., Dowda, M., McIver, K.L., and Pate, R.R.

Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA and University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine predictors of daily physical activity (PA) in a diverse sample of preschool children.

METHODS: Children 2-5 years old (n=331) in 22 preschools were assessed. Height and weight were measured, and physical activity was assessed by accelerometry. Children wore the monitors all day for 8-10 days, including a weekend. For analyses, up to five weekdays and two weekend days were included. Parents reported their age group, education level, height, weight, race, vigorous PA, family support for PA, PA equipment in the home, distance to and usage of the nearest park, child’s athletic coordination (AC), and child’s birth weight via survey. Pearson correlations between PA variables and potential predictor variables were calculated. Significant variables (p<0.10) were placed into linear regression analysis, which was used to determine predictors of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and total physical activity (TPA) for the overall sample and separately by sex.

RESULTS: For MVPA, significant variables for the overall sample were sex, age, race, distance to the nearest park (inverse association), and AC. In sex-specific analyses for MVPA, age was a significant predictor for boys, while age, BMI, and AC were significant variables for girls. For TPA, significant variables for the overall sample were AC and PA equipment at home. For girls, BMI and AC were significant predictors of TPA. Models accounted for 27-37% of the variance in PA.

CONCLUSIONS: Demographic and environmental factors were predictors of PA. Improving athletic coordination may be important for increasing preschool girls’ PA.