Preschool children are more physically active and less sedentary on weekdays compared with weekends

Authors

• Anna-Liisa Kyhälä University of Helsinki, Finland
• Jyrki Reunamo University of Helsinki, Finland
• Heikki Ruismäki University of Helsinki, Finland

Keywords:

Accelerometer, early childhood, physical activity, recommendations

Abstract

Physical activity (PA) is necessary for young children. The new recommendations for physical activity in early childhood in Finland suggest that daily activity consists of at least 3 hours of light-to-vigorous physical activity (LMVPA). In this article, we report preschool children’s compliance with the recommendations, PA amounts at different intensity levels, the variation between genders, and the effect of weekend on PA. The data were collected from 172 children, aged 3 to 7 years, using accelerometers during January–March 2015 for 7 days, 24 hours per day. Results revealed that compliance with the recommendations is low: 43% of the boys and 32% of the girls engaged in LMVPA for at least 3 hours per day. The variation was remarkable. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) averages ranged from 16 to 154 minutes in boys, and from 4 to 98 minutes in girls. The weekend decreased PA at all intensity levels and increased sedentary behavior by approximately 60 minutes in both genders. Interventions should focus on girls as a group, on boys with minimal amounts of MVPA, on reducing sedentary behavior, and on increasing weekend activity.