The promotion of physical activity (PA) in young children requires effective interventions. This article reviews the evidence on PA interventions in childcare by applying a socio-ecological approach. A computer-based literature search for intervention studies aimed at increasing children’s PA levels was run across four databases: SPORTDiscus, ISI Web of Science, PsycINFO and ERIC. The participants had to be in childcare, aged 2-6-year-old, and their pre- and post- intervention PA levels measured. Selection was restricted to peer-reviewed publications and to studies conducted in childcare settings. Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria and their methodological quality was assessed. Seven studies exhibited high methodological quality; twelve were rated as moderate and four low. The effectiveness of the interventions was determined according to the post-intervention behavioral changes reported in children’s PA. Fourteen studies found increases in PA levels or reductions in sedentary time, although the changes were modest. The data remain too limited to allow firm conclusions to be drawn on the effectiveness of the components mediating PA interventions, although PA-specific in-service teacher training seems a potential strategy. The findings of this review indicate that children’s PA remained low and did not approach the 180 min/day criteria. It may be that more intensive multilevel and multicomponent interventions based on a comprehensive model are needed.

This study evaluated the relationships between objectively measured physical activity and fundamental motor skills in 4-year-old children. Physical activity was monitored in 20 girls and 17 boys over 5 consecutive days (3 days at preschool and 2 days at home) and their fundamental motor skills measured. Multiple linear regressions controlled for sex, age, and body mass index indicated that the total skill score was significantly associated with physical activity, explaining 13%, 16%, and 16% of the variance in total, moderate-to-vigorous, and light-to-vigorous physical activity, respectively. Sliding and galloping were significantly associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and throwing and catching combination was significantly associated with total, moderate-to-vigorous, and light-to-vigorous physical activity. The findings warrant future investigations with larger samples to examine the relationship between locomotor, manipulative skills, and physical activity behaviors.

10The purposes of this study were to assess seasonal, daily, and gender variations in children's 11 physical activity (PA). ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers were used to record the 3 year-old 12 children's PA levels for five consecutive days in autumn and winter. Complete data for both

Physical activity (PA), its location, social interactions and fundamental motor skills were investigated in four-year-old Finnish children in day care. Six skills in the stability, locomotor and manipulative domains were assessed in 53 children (24 boys, 29 girls, normal anthropometry) with the APM-Inventory manual for assessing children's perceptual and fundamental motor skills (Numminen, 1995) and Total Motor Scores (TMS; 0-6 points) calculated. PA intensity, location, group composition and activity type − sitting, squatting, kneeling − were directly observed with a modified version of the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children-Preschool Version (OSRAC-P) (Brown et al. 2006) during three consecutive days in 14 centres.

This study addressed the following research questions: 1) What physical activity (PA) intensity levels and patterns exist among Finnish 3-year-old preschool children (studies I, II)? 2) Are there variations between Finland and the Netherlands in 3-year-old children's observed PA levels and contexts in childcare (study III)? 3) Are there variations between Finland and Australia in 3-year-old children's PA intensity levels measured with accelerometers (study IV)? In Finland, 14 childcare centres in the city of Jyväskylä participated in the study. Data were gathered on 96 three-year-old preschool children (48 boys and 48 girls) in autumn 2010, and on 94 children (50 boys and 44 girls) in winter 2011. Data were also gathered on 97 (46 boys and 51 girls) 3-year-olds from nine childcare centres in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and on 64 (33 boys and 31 girls) 3-year-olds from 13 childcare centres in Melbourne, Australia. Children's PA intensity levels and sedentary time on five consecutive days, including childcare and homecare days was assessed with ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers. The structured Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children-Preschool Version (OSRAC-P) of was used to obtain descriptive information on the context of PA behaviours in childcare settings. Appropriate statistical analyses were performed. The 3-year-old children spent the major part of their time engaged in sedentary-level activities. During childcare attendance, only 2% of all observations were recorded as moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). The children were observed, for the most part, in non-solitary play; however, during solitary play they showed higher levels of PA intensity. In autumn, the children were more physically active in the mornings than afternoons. No major differences were observed in PA levels between days or seasons, although levels of outdoor PA were higher in autumn than winter. The Finnish children spent significantly more time in sedentary-level activities and less time in MVPA than the Dutch children, whereas, during childcare days the Finnish children spent more time in light PA than the Australian children. The childcare setting itself plays an important part in promoting more intensive PA behaviour during early childhood. Throughout the year, children should be encouraged to spend a greater amount of their time playing outdoors, engaged in MVPA-level activities, and to minimize the time spent sitting or engaged in sedentary-level activities. Finnish childcare policy makers should take note of these findings as well as of existing international practices and guidelines that have been demonstrated to be beneficial for children's PA behaviour and thus also health. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSPhysical activity has been a major part of my whole life, becoming a way of life. Besides enjoying being physically active myself, I have had a mission to encourage inactive people to work towards adopting a more physically active lifestyle. I believe that as a part of broadening my own lifelong learning, starting thi...

Soini, Anne Always on the move? Measured physical activity of 3-year-old preschool children Jyväskylä:

Open Access License:This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. abstract BackgroundTheeffectoftheclusterrandomizedHome-andchildcare-basedInterventiontoPromote Physical Activity (HIPPA) intervention on the everyday physical activity (PA) of children betweentheagesof4to5yearswasevaluated. Material/MethodsFourteenchildcarecenterswith102childrenbornin2007andtheirfamiliesparticipatedin thestudy.HIPPAwasimplementedoverasinglepreschoolyearinsevenchildcarecenters whilesevenothercenterscontinuedtheirnormalcare(controlgroup,CG).ThePAlevelsof childrenwereassessedbyaccelerometerssixtimeseverysixmonthsduringtwoandahalf yearsofresearch.ValidPAdatawereobtainedfrom69childrenatbaselineandanalyzed withalinearmixedmodel. ResultsChildreninHIPPAengagedinmoreMVPA(moderate-to-vigorousPA)atpost-intervention andmoreLMVPA(light-to-vigorousPA)atthesix-monthfollow-uponweekdaysthanthe CG did (estimated net effect: 13 min/day and 15 min/day, respectively). Sex-specific analysesindicatedthatthedifferencesinweekdayMVPAandLMVPAbetweengroupswere significant at follow-up among girls (estimated net effect: 15 min/day and 20 min/day, respectively),butnotamongboys. ConclusionsOverall,HIPPAwaseffectiveinincreasingPAinchildcare-agedchildren,especiallyingirls.

In recent years, we have got more information on physical activity and motor skills of preschool-aged children in Finland. However, national monitoring system for this age groups is still lacking in Finland like in many other European countries too. This presentation describes the process and recent results of an on-going research and development project JOYPAM - monitoring the joy of motion, physical activity and motor skills for pre-school-aged children. Aim of the project is to co-create, test and recommend a national level monitoring system by the end of 2020.