Current research seems to confirm a secular decline in movement skills in school children. Only few data are available for preschool children and no clear trend can be identified. In the year 2007, height, weight, and motor performance were determined in 726 preschool children [Prevention through Activity in Kindergarten Trial (PAKT)] and compared with historical samples from 1973, 1985, and 1989. There was no difference in height and weight between the samples of 1973 and 2007. Older boys of today were smaller and lighter than those of 1989. Regardless of age, PAKT children fared significantly better in standing long jump than those assessed in 1989. Compared with the sample of 1973, PAKT children did equally well in this task. There were no differences in performance in an obstacle course between children of 1989 and 2007. In balancing backwards, PAKT children performed significantly worse than those in 1985. Regarding target throwing only the PAKT 4-year-olds achieved significantly worse results than those in 1985.Therefore, in preschool children, a secular decline is only evident in some, but not all, motor skills, which may indicate a change in behavior activity over the last decades.
BackgroundPhysical activity and motor skills acquisition are of high importance for health-related prevention and a normal development in childhood. However, few intervention studies exist in preschool children focussing on an increase in physical activity and motor skills. Proof of positive effects is available but not consistent.Methods/DesignThe design, curriculum, and evaluation strategy of a cluster randomised intervention study in preschool children are described in this manuscript. In the Prevention through Activity in Kindergarten Trial (PAKT), 41 of 131 kindergartens of Wuerzburg and Kitzingen, Germany, were randomised into an intervention and a control group by a random number table stratified for the location of the kindergarten in an urban (more than 20.000 inhabitants) or rural area. The aims of the intervention were to increase physical activity and motor skills in the participating children, and to reduce health risk factors as well as media use. The intervention was designed to involve children, parents and teachers, and lasted one academic year. It contained daily 30-min sessions of physical education in kindergarten based on a holistic pedagogic approach termed the "early psychomotor education". The sessions were instructed by kindergarten teachers under regular supervision by the research team. Parents were actively involved by physical activity homework cards. The kindergarten teachers were trained in workshops and during the supervision. Assessments were performed at baseline, 3-5 months into the intervention, at the end of the intervention and 2-4 months after the intervention. The primary outcomes of the study are increases in physical activity (accelerometry) and in motor skills performance (composite score of obstacle course, standing long jump, balancing on one foot, jumping sidewise to and fro) between baseline and the two assessments during the intervention. Secondary outcomes include decreases in body adiposity (BMI, skin folds), media use (questionnaire), blood pressure, number of accidents and infections (questionnaire), increases in specific motor skills (throwing, balancing, complex motor performance, jumping) and in flexibility.DiscussionIf this trial proofs the effectiveness of the multilevel kindergarten based physical activity intervention on preschooler's activity levels and motor skills, the programme will be distributed nationwide in Germany.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00623844
Abstract:Aim: To establish an effective and feasible physical activity intervention programme for preschools.Methods: A multi-component physical activity intervention programme with three components was developed for the preschool setting based on the psychomotor concept: daily structured physical education lessons for the children provided by the kindergarten teachers, physical activity homework for the child and his/her family, and parental education. The kindergarten teachers were invited to two workshops providing information on the background of the intervention and practical training for planning and organising the activity lessons. Regular
EinleitungEine vielseitige körperliche Aktivität ist für die frühkindliche Entwicklung von großer Bedeutung. Bewegungsmangel bei Kindergartenkindern wird mit Übergewicht, Haltungs- und Koordinationsmängeln assoziiert. Die Wirksamkeit primärpräventiver Interventionen zur Steigerung der körperlichen Aktivität ist für dieses Alter bislang aber nicht belegt. Ziel des vorliegenden Projektes war die Entwicklung eines Bewegungsprogramms für Kindergärten und die Evaluation der Durchführbarkeit und Effektivität.
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