Tracy A. Larson

THE EFFECT OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITY CONTEXT ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

The purpose of the current study was to develop and test a method for assessing the effect of outdoor activity context on level of physical activity in preschool children. The observational system for recording physical activity in children was used to define the test conditions and various levels of physical activity within a multielement design. In general, all participants were fairly sedentary during the analysis. The fixed playground equipment condition produced the most moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, a finding that does not correspond to the descriptive assessment literature on childhood physical activity.

Behavioral assessment of physical activity in obese preschool children.

We measured changes in physical activity in 2 obese preschool children when a package intervention was evaluated in a reversal design. Physical activity was measured via direct observation and pedometers. Although the intervention produced only modest increases in activity, the results provide preliminary concurrent validation for the dependent measures used, in that the two measures covaried and a similar degree of change was observed with each across baseline and intervention phases.

A functional analysis of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in young children

Inadequate physical activity increases the risks related to a number of health problems in children, most notably obesity and the corresponding range of associated health problems. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a functional analysis to investigate the effects of several consequent variables on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). We observed the level of MVPA exhibited by 2 preschool children in 4 conditions: alone, attention contingent on MVPA, adult interaction contingent on MVPA, and escape from task demands contingent on MVPA. These four conditions were compared to a naturalistic baseline and to a control condition. Overall, results indicated that the children were most active when attention and interactive play were contingent on MVPA. Social environments that encourage MVPA could be arranged based on this information, with these arrangements tailored to the individual child.

Further evaluation of a functional analysis of moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity in young children

Inadequate physical activity increases the risks related to several health problems in children; however, increasing physical activity mitigates these risks. In this study, we examined the relations between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and several environmental conditions (attention, interactive play, alone, escape) with 4 preschool children. We compared the experimental conditions to a control condition and a naturalistic baseline according to a combined multielement and reversal design. Results indicated that all participants were most active in the interactive play condition and that the percentage of MVPA varied across experimental and control conditions. In addition, the frequency and duration of bouts of MVPA were greatest in the interactive play condition. The current study presents a methodology for the identification of environmental contingencies that support increased levels of MVPA in young children, and it holds promise for improving our understanding of the variables related to physical activity.

The role of the physical environment in promoting physical activity in children across different group compositions.

Physical activity is an important health-related behavior, but the environmental variables that promote or abate it are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to conduct a functional analysis evaluating the effect of the physical environment on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in preschool children, and to evaluate the utility of the methodology across different group compositions. The Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children was used to define the test conditions and the measures of physical activity for eight preschool children. The functional analysis was implemented according to a multi-element experimental design. The highest levels of MVPA were observed when fixed playground equipment was available and at least one peer was present. Moreover, differential responding was observed across group compositions. The implications of this methodology and these findings on the development of interventions to increase MVPA are discussed.