The goal of this randomized clinical trial is to examine the effects of a planned movement in preschool-aged children. The main question is to determine \* What are the effects of a planned movement program on physical activity, body composition, fundamental motor skills, and time on task in preschool children aged 3-5 years? Researchers will compare a planned movement program to a control group, where current instruction is implemented.
A majority of preschool children do not participate in the recommended levels of physical activity and are deficient in fundamental motor skills. These deficits may also impact body composition. Preschool teachers serve as the gateway to providing physical activity opportunities at preschool but many fail to do so. As play is developmentally appropriate for preschools and part of many curriculums adding active elements to play may be a feasible solution for teachers to implement physical activity opportunities. This project will evaluate the effect of a planned movement program that incorporates elements of active play on preschoolers' body composition, physical activity, time on task, and fundamental motor skills at week 0, week 12, and week 24. Physical Activity will be assessed throughout the school year with a wrist-worn wearable accelerometer. Body composition will be assessed with a foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance scale. Fundamental motor skills will be assessed by the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales 2nd Edition and Time on-task will be measured by observing children in their classroom. The outcomes of this study will be used to implement sustainable physical activity programming for preschoolers.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
50
Teachers will implement an addition two physical activity opportunities that incorporate active play each day for a potential dose of 20-30 minutes per day and 100-150 minutes per week.
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama, United States
Physical Activity
An accelerometer attached at the wrist will measure physical activity over 24 hours for 5 days at baseline and 12 weeks
Time frame: 12 weeks
Body composition
Percent body fat, ratio of fat mass to lean mass, will be assessed with electrical impedance.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Fundamental motor skills
The fundamental motor skill gross quotient will be measured with the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Second Edition 2nd edition (PDMS-2). The sum of points comprises the raw scores for each subscale. Raw scores range for each subscale are 6-60 for Stationary Skills, 6-178 for Locomotion Skills, and 6-48 for Object Manipulation Skills. Using age-appropriate tables in the testing manual, we will convert the raw scores to standardized scores (0-20) and summed them to determine the gross motor quartile (GMQ), which has a range of 41 - 164. A higher score indicates a more favorable outcome.
Time frame: 12 weeks
Time on Task
The percentage of time spent on task will be observed and presented as a ratio of time on task to time spent off task.
Time frame: 12 weeks
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