Feasibility and Effectiveness of a Wearable Technology-Based Physical Activity Intervention in Preschoolers: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and the effectiveness of an intervention that employed a technology-based physical activity (PA) monitoring system and teacher-regulated strategies to promote PA in preschoolers. A total of 93 preschoolers (53% girls, 4.7 years) from 5 child care centers were recruited for a one-week intervention and randomly assigned into control (2 centers, n = 45) or intervention (3 centers, n = 48) group. Key intervention components included: (1) wearable device-based, real-time monitoring of children’s PA by classroom teachers and (2) teacher-regulated strategies for providing more opportunities for PA. Sedentary behavior (SED) and PA were measured using accelerometers. Overall, children in the intervention group showed significantly lower level of SED (31.6 vs. 33.6 min/h) and higher level of total PA (28.4 vs. 26.4 min/h) than children in the control group, after adjusting for age, sex, race, parent education level, parent perception of their child’s PA, BMI, and childcare centers. Teachers in the intervention group reported that the intervention was highly feasible to be implemented in their current classroom settings. In conclusion, we observed high acceptability and initial effectiveness of the current intervention. Subsequent research at larger-scale is warranted to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention strategies tested in this study.

The Effects of the PLAYTOD Program on Children’s Physical Activity at Preschool Playgrounds in a Deprived Urban Area: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In future studies, it could be interesting to add a technological tool for ECEC teachers to help them recognize real-time low physical activity. Byun et al (2018) recently published a study with a promising application of real-time physical activity monitoring by teachers and teacher-regulated strategies to promote physical activity in preschool-aged children [46].…”

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“…Dois trabalhos combinaram os dois modos [Heravi et al. 2018, Byun et al. 2018] e dois trabalhos não mencionaram armazenamento [Geršak et al.…”

“…2020, Miao et al. 2018, Byun et al. 2018, identificação de movimentos não usuais em crianças com deficiência [Albinali et al.…”

“…Além disso, os dispositivos wearable coletam dados que permitem análises estatísticas para melhorar a aula e ampliar a visão sobre as habilidades motoras e interação entre os estudantes [Watanabe et al. 2013, Byun et al. 2018, Saquib et al.…”

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