Can Childcare Work Be Designed to Promote High Intensity Physical Activity for Improved Fitness and Health? A Proof of Concept Study of the Goldilocks Principle

Abstract

Childcare workers are reported to have high variation in physical activity during work hours, but also to sit for about half of the workday and have almost no high intensity physical activity (HIPA). No study has investigated if their work can be re-designed to introduce HIPA, thus promoting fitness and health according to the Goldilocks principle. This study investigated the feasibility of designing pedagogical games (‘Goldilocks-games’) intended to lead to more HIPA. Heart rate was measured in nineteen childcare workers during Goldilocks-games, and compared to measurements during a regular workday. Worker perceptions of feasibility, and researcher observations of contextual factors were also collected. The Goldilocks-games (33 min) elicited significantly more HIPA (18/33 min) compared to the most active period of equal length on a regular workday (0.5/33 min). Seventy-four-percent of the childcare workers reported that it was feasible to integrate the Goldilocks-games pedagogically, and seventy-two-percent could see themselves using them. Thus, we found it possible to re-design a work task in childcare according to the Goldilocks principle so that it leads to substantial time with HIPA. The sustainability of Goldilocks-games in childcare, and their effectiveness in improving fitness and health among childcare workers, needs to be tested in further studies.

The effect of leisure time physical activity and sedentary behaviour on the health of workers with different occupational physical activity demands: a systematic review

“…Workplace interventions, may therefore, benefit from including built environment changes that support active commuting to work, but also organizational changes that support workers to be physically active during leisure. An additional strategy to promote improved health and fitness could be to redesign and reorganize the content of jobs characterized by high OPA [ 98 ].…”

Development and Implementation of ‘Just Right’ Physical Behavior in Industrial Work Based on the Goldilocks Work Principle—A Feasibility Study

“…We used a protocol for measuring physical behavior and intensity similar to that in a previous study among childcare workers [ 16 ]. An AX3 accelerometer (3-Axis Logging Accelerometer; Axivity Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne, UK) was mounted using adhesive tape (Hair-Set double-sided adhesive tape; 3 M Company, Maplewood, MN, USA) on the worker’s right thigh at the most muscular part of the quadriceps femoris, midway on the line between the anterior inferior iliac spine and the top of the patella.…”

“…The next step recommended is to redesign the productive work through a participative process with the workplace. This redesign process has been tested among childcare workers with promising results [ 16 ]. In that study a common work task (i.e., pedagogical games) was redesigned according to the Goldilocks Work Principle in order to elicit periods with high intensity among the childcare workers, while it would still be pedagogically relevant for the children [ 16 ].…”

“…This redesign process has been tested among childcare workers with promising results [ 16 ]. In that study a common work task (i.e., pedagogical games) was redesigned according to the Goldilocks Work Principle in order to elicit periods with high intensity among the childcare workers, while it would still be pedagogically relevant for the children [ 16 ]. The aim of increasing time with high intensity was determined after identifying those physical behavior changes in childcare work that would likely have the best potential to be implemented, while also improving health and fitness of the childcare workers.…”

Does Childcare Work Promote Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Health? A Cross-Sectional Study of Danish Childcare Workers Based on Accelerometry and Heart Rate Measurements

“…The study was announced through e-mails distributed to the childcare institution managers. In order to be eligible for participation, the institution had to supervise children aged 3–6 years, which is the age at which Danish children attend kindergarten and can actively participate in Goldilocks games [ 18 ]. To secure the most efficient use of project resources, a minimum of nine childcare workers employed at each institution was required.…”