The Impact of Childcare Provider Behaviors and the Outdoor Environment on Preschool Children's Physical Activity
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- February 26, 2019
- Creator
-
Barnes, Justin
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Nutrition
- Abstract
- Background: Preschool children’s physical activity (PA) opportunities at child care centers present an opportunity to reduce the obesity epidemic’s spread into the youngest generation. Through interactions with outdoor learning environments and their teachers, children’s PA levels may be affected. This study investigated how the outdoor environment and teacher behaviors may influence children’s PA. Methods: Participants included 3-5 year olds and teachers from 49 child care centers in North Carolina. Classrooms were observed for four days, and children wore accelerometers to measure PA. Teachers completed questionnaires examining PA-supportive behaviors. Seven outdoor environment features and five PA-supportive teacher behaviors were studied. Results: Across all centers, children averaged 10.5 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per hour spent at child care. None of the outdoor environment features or teacher behaviors exhibited clear associations with children’s PA when examined individually or within comprehensive multivariable models. Conclusion: Reliable models to predict children’s PA based on the outdoor environment and teacher behaviors examined could not be created. Children’s interactions with their teachers and outdoor environments are likely complex and require more individualized attention and better measures before being used as reliable predictors of children’s PA.
- Date of publication
- spring 2015
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Funding: None
- Advisor
- Ward, Dianne
- Degree
- Bachelor of Science in Public Health
- Honors level
- Highest Honors
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Extent
- 34
Relations
- Parents:
This work has no parents.