Within- and Between-Day Variability of Objectively Measured Physical Activity in Preschoolers

Abstract

In this study, physical activity (PA) was objectively measured in 213 Belgian preschoolers (M(age) = 4.98, SD = .88 years) over 4 consecutive days including two weekend days. Within-day variability in PA showed a typical activity pattern during weekdays and weekend days. Weekdays clearly reflected a preschool attending day with more peaks and troughs than weekend days and after-school hours were characterized by a decrease in activity. Between-day variability in PA was identified in preschool girls above the age of four, suggesting that the lack of a structured preschool environment is already related with a decrease in PA in this sex-specific age group. The results of this study are informative for the development of future PA interventions and indicate that both the preschool and the home environment should be targeted in the promotion of preschoolers' PA.

Comparing the physical activity patterns of 3-year-old Finnish and Australian children during childcare and homecare days

“…Homecare hourly patterns of PA determined in the current study are similar to the findings of Verbestel et al [22], whereby, two increases in children's activity levels on homecare days (i.e., Finnish) were recorded between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Additionally, Australian children's PA intensity levels were higher during hours between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. These minor activity peaks were recorded slightly later than on childcare days.…”

“…During this peak however, children's MVPA levels were lower than during the childcare hours. Congruent with results of the study of Verbestel et al [22], the Australian data confirmed that after childcare hours were associated with reduced activity levels. Parents may assume that their child is getting enough PA during the childcare day, which could limit encouragement of the child to be physically active or to play outdoors after childcare hours.…”

“…The mean total PA scores for the children in the present study appeared to be higher than those reported previously in similar studies in different countries [22,33,34,35,36]. For example, in Scotland Jackson et al [35] found total activity counts of 669 cpm and Reilly et al [36] 692 for 3-year-olds for compared to the mean of 730 cpm found in this study.…”

“…Despite no stated differences in children's childcare days' total PA between countries, Finnish children engaged more in light PA compared to Australian 3-year-olds. A Belgian study previously reported significant increases in children's objectively measured PA intensity during preschool recess and in times of unstructured free plays that were taken as an opportunity to be physically active [22]. Similarly, Finnish children's intensity levels peaked twice during childcare attending hours, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., reaching the highest MVPA levels during the day.…”

“…Although, accelerometers have become one of the most widely used methods for measuring PA and SB in free-living preschool children [17,18,19,20] only limited research exists that considered PA variability in preschool children across different segments of day or PA patterns hour-by-hour [21,22]. Furthermore, the number of studies that have adopted similar designs and methodologies to compare PA behaviors of children from different countries in childcare and home settings is minimal.…”