Therefore, survey measures of physical activity are needed. Unfortunately, instruments to measure physical activity in preschool-aged children are lacking.ĭirect measures to assess physical activity, such as observation and accelerometers, are often not feasible in large epidemiologic studies. This includes increasing physical activity levels in preschoolers. 003).Ĭonclusion Parental-report measures of outdoor playtime were significantly correlated to a direct measure of physical activity in preschool-aged children, and are worthy of future evaluation as a survey measure.īecause the prevalence of obesity is increasing even among preschool-aged children, 1 there is a need to begin obesity prevention efforts at young ages. Physical activity as measured by the accelerometer was significantly correlated to the time spent playing outdoors, as measured by the checklist ( r = 0.33, P <.001) and recall ( r = 0.20, P =. Parents reported that their children spent a mean (±SD) of 146 (☑13) minutes playing outdoors each day. Results The mean age of the children was 44 months, 87.7% were white, and 12.3% were black. We calculated Spearman rank correlation coefficients among these 3 measures. Parental report of outdoor playtime was measured in 2 ways: (1) the score from a checklist used to record outdoor playtime over 3 days and (2) a recall of the usual minutes of daily outdoor playtime during the prior month. We calculated each child's average vector magnitude per minute while awake. Main Outcome Measures Three days of recording with a 3-dimensional accelerometer were used to directly measure physical activity in 250 preschool-aged children. Objective To compare a direct measure of physical activity in preschool-aged children with 2 parental-report measures of children's outdoor playtime. Time spent playing outdoors is a potential surrogate measure of physical activity in preschoolers, but parental-report measures of outdoor playtime have not been evaluated. To our knowledge, survey measures of physical activity in preschool-aged children are unavailable. Shared Decision Making and Communicationīackground Keeping young children physically active is an important strategy to promote their health and well-being.Scientific Discovery and the Future of Medicine.Health Care Economics, Insurance, Payment.
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