Conceptual skills and verbal abilities were better in children aged six to seven years who were from more highly educated families and attended sports clubs

Abstract

Aim We explored the cognitive abilities, health behaviour and cardiorespiratory fitness of preschool Estonian children aged 6–7 and any association with parental education, attending sports clubs and gender. Methods Data were obtained from 256 children recruited from 13 randomly chosen kindergartens in Tartu, Estonia. Cognitive abilities were assessed using the modified Boehm Test of Basic Concepts – Third Edition. Objective physical activity (PA) intensity and sedentary levels were measured over seven days by accelerometry. To assess cardiorespiratory fitness, we used the 20‐m shuttle run from the PREFIT test battery. Parents reported their educational attainment, together with their child's sports club attendance, sleep duration and screen time. Results Children from more highly educated families had significantly better test results for conceptual skills, verbal abilities and cardiorespiratory fitness. PA levels, cardiorespiratory fitness and perception and conceptual skills test results were better in children who attended sports clubs. Higher cardiorespiratory fitness level, shorter screen time and sleep duration were associated with better conceptual skills. Conclusion Conceptual skills and verbal abilities were better in the children of more highly educated families and if they attended sports clubs. Children's cognitive abilities may benefit from better cardiorespiratory fitness, reduced sedentary activity and less screen time.

Associations between physical activity, body composition, and physical fitness in the transition from preschool to school

“…In recent study with 6-to 7-year-old preschool children, no associations were found between BMI and FM with MVPA and VPA. 11 Earlier Note: The unstandardized regression coefficients (b) with its 95% confidence interval (CI), standardized regression coefficient (β), and P value are given for each association. P < .05 was considered statistically significant, and was marked in bold.…”

“…Counts of 100 to 1999, 2000 to 3999, ≥4000 per min distinguished light PA (LPA), MPA, and VPA, respectively. 11,14,16 Time spent in MVPA was calculated as the sum of MPA and VPA. 14 Total awake wear time (AWT) was calculated as the sum of SB, LPA, MPA, and VPA.…”

“…8 Cross-sectional studies have confirmed that vigorous PA (VPA) is strongly associated with lower adiposity, 9 and higher fat-free mass index (FFMI) already in 4-year-old children, 10 but there are somewhat contradictory results about the effect of sedentary behavior (SB) on indicators of obesity in preschoolers. [9][10][11][12][13] However, there appears to be a relatively little research focused on identifying whether PA and body composition patterns at preschool age will be transmitted to school period. It has been reported that only the level of VPA, but not total or moderate PA (MPA), was related to the improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in longitudinal study with 4-to 6-year-old Swiss children 9 months after baseline measurements.…”

“…It is likely that the preschool environment influences the further development of a child and understanding these factors may be particularly effective in reducing the subsequent health problems later in childhood 8 . Cross‐sectional studies have confirmed that vigorous PA (VPA) is strongly associated with lower adiposity, 9 and higher fat‐free mass index (FFMI) already in 4‐year‐old children, 10 but there are somewhat contradictory results about the effect of sedentary behavior (SB) on indicators of obesity in preschoolers 9‐13 . However, there appears to be a relatively little research focused on identifying whether PA and body composition patterns at preschool age will be transmitted to school period.…”

Physical fitness and physical activity of 6-7-year-old children according to weight status and sports participation

“…Parents reported their educational attainment, and this measure was based on the highest level achieved by the mother or father and categorised as university level or less. The parents were also asked whether their child belonged to a SC [16]. Written informed consents were obtained from the parents of all participants.…”