学龄前儿童的体力活动、看电视时间及对建议的依从性

Purpose:

Little evidence exists about the prevalence of adequate levels of physical activity and of appropriate screen-based entertainment in preschool children. Previous studies have generally relied on small samples. This study investigates how much time preschool children spend being physically active and engaged in screen-based entertainment. The study also reports compliance with the recently released Australian recommendations for physical activity (≥3h·d−1) and screen entertainment (≤1h·d−1) and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education physical activity guidelines (≥2h·d−1) and American Academy of Pediatrics screen-based entertainment recommendations (≤2h·d−1) in a large sample of preschool children.

Methods:

Participants were 1004 Melbourne preschool children (mean age=4.5yr, range=3–5yr) and their families in the Healthy Active Preschool Years study. Physical activity data were collected by accelerometry during an 8-d period. Parents reported their child's television/video/DVD viewing, computer/Internet, and electronic game use during a typical week. A total of 703 (70%) had sufficient accelerometry data, and 935 children (93%) had useable data on time spent in screen-based entertainment.

Results:

Children spent 16% (approximately 127min·d−1) of their time being physically active. Boys and younger children were more active than were girls and older children, respectively. Children spent an average of 113min·d in screen-based entertainment. Virtually no children (<1%) met both the Australian recommendations and 32% met both the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations.

Conclusions:

The majority of young children are not participating in adequate amounts of physical activity and in excessive amounts of screen-based entertainment. It is likely that physical activity may decline and that screen-based entertainment may increase with age. Compliance with recommendations may be further reduced. Strategies to promote physical activity and reduce screen-based entertainment in young children are required.