The differences in physical activity levels in preschool children during free play recess and structured play recess
Background/Objective: Physical activity (PA) is important in reducing childhood obesity, yet a majority of children are not meeting PA guidelines. Schools have been identified as a place to promote childhood PA. The purpose of this study was to determine the best type of physically active recess per...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2018-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1728869X17301338 |
| _version_ | 1819058709211381760 |
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| author | Megan L. Frank Anna Flynn Gregory S. Farnell Jacob E. Barkley |
| author_facet | Megan L. Frank Anna Flynn Gregory S. Farnell Jacob E. Barkley |
| author_sort | Megan L. Frank |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background/Objective: Physical activity (PA) is important in reducing childhood obesity, yet a majority of children are not meeting PA guidelines. Schools have been identified as a place to promote childhood PA. The purpose of this study was to determine the best type of physically active recess period to increase preschool-aged children's PA. Methods: PA was measured via accelerometers in preschool-aged children (n = 29) during three, 30-min recess conditions (control; structured play; free play) on separate school days. Tertile splits were performed based on PA during the free play condition and children were divided into three groups: highly, moderately and least active. Results: For the aggregated sample, children were more (p ≤ 0.001) active during the free play (1282 ± 662 counts. min−1) and structured play (1416 ± 448 counts. min−1) recess versus the control condition (570 ± 460 counts. min−1) and activity was not different between the free play and structured conditions. However, children who were the most active during free play (1970 ± 647 counts·min−1) decreased (p ≤ 0.05) activity during structured play (1462 ± 535 counts·min−1), whereas children who were moderately active (1031 ± 112 counts·min−1) or the least (530 ± 239 counts·min−1) active during free play increased activity during structured play (1383 ± 345 counts·min−1 moderately active, 1313 ± 413 counts·min−1 least active). Conclusion: Providing a physically-active recess period will contribute to preschool-aged children meeting the recommended PA guidelines; however, different children may respond in a different way based upon the structure of the recess period. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:59:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ca7b5c081c524d2fba3c276f0d23b717 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1728-869X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:59:30Z |
| publishDate | 2018-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness |
| spelling | doaj.art-ca7b5c081c524d2fba3c276f0d23b7172022-12-21T19:01:25ZengElsevierJournal of Exercise Science & Fitness1728-869X2018-04-011613742The differences in physical activity levels in preschool children during free play recess and structured play recessMegan L. Frank0Anna Flynn1Gregory S. Farnell2Jacob E. Barkley3Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, OH, United StatesDavey Elementary School, Kent, OH, United StatesJohn Carroll University, University Heights, OH, United StatesKent State University, Kent, OH, United States; Corresponding author. Kent State University, 350 Midway Dr, 163E MACC Annex, Kent, OH 44242, USA.Background/Objective: Physical activity (PA) is important in reducing childhood obesity, yet a majority of children are not meeting PA guidelines. Schools have been identified as a place to promote childhood PA. The purpose of this study was to determine the best type of physically active recess period to increase preschool-aged children's PA. Methods: PA was measured via accelerometers in preschool-aged children (n = 29) during three, 30-min recess conditions (control; structured play; free play) on separate school days. Tertile splits were performed based on PA during the free play condition and children were divided into three groups: highly, moderately and least active. Results: For the aggregated sample, children were more (p ≤ 0.001) active during the free play (1282 ± 662 counts. min−1) and structured play (1416 ± 448 counts. min−1) recess versus the control condition (570 ± 460 counts. min−1) and activity was not different between the free play and structured conditions. However, children who were the most active during free play (1970 ± 647 counts·min−1) decreased (p ≤ 0.05) activity during structured play (1462 ± 535 counts·min−1), whereas children who were moderately active (1031 ± 112 counts·min−1) or the least (530 ± 239 counts·min−1) active during free play increased activity during structured play (1383 ± 345 counts·min−1 moderately active, 1313 ± 413 counts·min−1 least active). Conclusion: Providing a physically-active recess period will contribute to preschool-aged children meeting the recommended PA guidelines; however, different children may respond in a different way based upon the structure of the recess period.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1728869X17301338 |
| spellingShingle | Megan L. Frank Anna Flynn Gregory S. Farnell Jacob E. Barkley The differences in physical activity levels in preschool children during free play recess and structured play recess Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness |
| title | The differences in physical activity levels in preschool children during free play recess and structured play recess |
| title_full | The differences in physical activity levels in preschool children during free play recess and structured play recess |
| title_fullStr | The differences in physical activity levels in preschool children during free play recess and structured play recess |
| title_full_unstemmed | The differences in physical activity levels in preschool children during free play recess and structured play recess |
| title_short | The differences in physical activity levels in preschool children during free play recess and structured play recess |
| title_sort | differences in physical activity levels in preschool children during free play recess and structured play recess |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1728869X17301338 |
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