This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) All Versions of this Article: 1559827609341964v1 3/6/474    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Ward, D. S. Articles by Hales, D. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Physical Activity at Child Care Settings: Review and Research Recommendations

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dsward{at}email.unc.edu.

	Abstract

Child care settings, such as nursery schools and preschools, provide important opportunities to increase physical activity in children aged 2 to 5 years. Because of the large numbers of children enrolled, physical activity interventions at child care facilities have the potential to reach many children at an age when behaviors are influenced more easily. To learn more about this possibility, the authors conducted a systematic review of the published literature for intervention studies conducted at organized child care settings that focused on increasing children’s physical activity levels. Although 8 databases were searched from their inception, only 9 studies were found that met inclusion criteria, all of which were published since 2003. Of these, 7 studies implemented some type of organized educational program or specific curricula, whereas 2 studies implemented environmental changes. Intervention length across studies varied from 2 days to 12 months. Five studies demonstrated a positive change in physical activity; however, the limited number of studies included and the range of research quality made it difficult to draw clear conclusions. A number of potential targets for increasing physical activity at child care settings were identified, including active opportunities, sedentary opportunities, physical environment, staff training and behavior, center policies, and outreach. All these areas seem to merit further investigation, and specific research questions for each are discussed.

First published on July 28, 2009, doi:10.1177/1559827609341964

American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 2009;3:474.

A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2009


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?