Features of the UK childcare environment and associations with preschooler's in-care physical activity

Features of the UK childcare environment and associations with preschooler's in-care physical activity

Abstract Objective Features of the childcare environment may influence children's in-care physical activity (PA). We assessed the association between UK preschool care-provider, environmental and policy factors and 3–4-year-olds' average daily in-care sedentary behaviour (SED) and PA. Meth...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Preventive medicine reports 2016-06, Vol.3, p.53-57
Main Authors: Hesketh, Kathryn R, van Sluijs, Esther M.F
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Brief Original Report
Childcare
Environment
Internal Medicine
Physical activity
Policy
Preschool-aged children
Sedentary
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Summary:Abstract Objective Features of the childcare environment may influence children's in-care physical activity (PA). We assessed the association between UK preschool care-provider, environmental and policy factors and 3–4-year-olds' average daily in-care sedentary behaviour (SED) and PA. Methods In 2013, we used accelerometers to measure the in-care SED/ PA of 201 3–4-year-old children (51% female) in 30 preschools in Cambridgeshire, UK, (average wear time: (mean ± SD) 4.2 ± 1.3 week-days). We assessed the childcare environment using the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation tool; demographic and carer information was taken from questionnaires. We used three-level mixed-effects regression analyses (adjusted for sex, in-care time and travel mode to care) to determine the association between childcare factors and children's in-care average daily minutes/hour spent SED, in light PA (LPA) and in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Results Children spent 5.6 ± 2.5 h in care per day on average; clustering of PA within preschools was limited (ICCs: 0.003–0.05). Fully adjusted models showed that active opportunities were positively associated with children's in-care SED. No associations with in-care LPA and MVPA were observed. Conclusion Few care-provider, environmental and policy factors were associated with children's in-care activity. UK childcare policies advocating child-driven play, moving freely indoors and outdoors, may be more conducive to individual children's PA.
ISSN:2211-3355
2211-3355