Physical Activity Levels In Kindergarten Children During Winter & Summer

More research should be done on children's activity patterns and activity levels in kindergarten, especially what promotes and prevents activity.

Introduction: National and international studies indicate that three- to five-year-old children do not reach the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommendations of minimum 60 minutes per day. Physical activity (PA) during childhood has a positive effect on cardiometabolic risk and other health markers, which tracks into adulthood. The aim of this study was to measure if there was a difference in physical activity levels in kindergarten children aged three to five years during a period in winter and summer.

Method: Physical activity levels were monitored using the Actigraph GT3X from Monday to Wednesday, between 07.30 am and 4.30 pm in three kindergartens. The primary physical activity outcome was time spent at different activity intensities. We defined (MVPA) as all activity above 2000 counts/min.

Results: 64 % of the children reach the recommendations of MVPA of 60 minutes per day in the winter (n=66), and 50 % in the summer (n=54). The activity level showed differences between the kindergartens, and the boys spend more minutes in MVPA than the girls do in both periods.

Discussion: The study shows that it can be difficult to achieve adequate physical activity levels in kindergarten in accordance with the recommendations for MVPA. The measurements show that more boys had higher activity level than the girls. The study shows relatively low activity levels among some children. The reason may be that kindergartens do not have good routines for facilitating enough physical activity. More research should be done on children's activity patterns and activity levels in kindergarten, especially what promotes and prevents activity.