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“Policies and Practices to Enhance Children’s Physical Activity in Preschools”
William H. Brown, PhD
University of South Carolina
Eleventh National Early Childhood Inclusion
Institute:Innovations in Inclusion
May 17, 2011Chapel Hill , North Carolina
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Obesity: A National Problem
Healthy People 2020 (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2010)
“The Epidemic of Childhood Obesity: Review of Research and Implications for Policy” Social Policy Report: Society for Research in Child Development (Krishnamoorthy, Hart, & Jelalian, 2006)
increased LDL cholesteroldecreased HDL cholesterolincreased triglyceridesatherosclerotic plaques
hypertensionincreased type 2 diabetessleep apneaorthopedic problems
Health Implications for ChildrenHealth Implications for Children
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Preschoolers At Risk for Overweight & Obesity
Among 2- to 5-year-old children in the U. S., the prevalence of overweight is 24.4% (Ogden, Carroll, & Flegal, 2008)
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Putative Causes of Childhood Obesity
Researchers have hypothesized that increased rates of obesity are related to decreases in physical activity dietary changes or both
CHILD
Outside play time
Nutrition Education
Meals
Opportunities for physical activity
Role Modeling
Built Environment
THE HEALTH ENVIRONMENT OF A CHILD
Food Rewards
Parent Education
No playtime punishments
Candy fundraisers
Snacks
Parties
Professional Development
Children’s Activity and Movement in Preschools Study
Interdisciplinary research team headed by Russ Pate in the Arnold School of Public Health and funded by NICHD Cheryl Addy, Bill Brown, Marsha
Dowda, Kerry McIver, Jennifer O’Neil, Karin Pfeiffer, and others
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OSRAC-P
At least 5 hours per child of observational data from 476 children in 24 community-based preschools in SC childcare centers (n = 12) church-affiliated preschools (n = 8) Head Start programs (n = 4)
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Encourage Children’s Physical Activity
Outdoor Equipment Doesn’tAlways Promote PA
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Physical Activity in Preschools Preschools are sedentary in nature Very limited adult encouragement and
acknowledgement of physical activity in preschools, even during recess
Very restricted employment of intentional teaching to promote children’s physical activity
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Decrease “Screen Time”
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Three Evidence-Informed Recommendations for Outdoor Play Increase the amount of time that children
spend outdoors
Provide several shorter outdoor play activities to capture peak physical activity
Organize and directly encourage children’s vigorous activity during outdoor play
ABC Grow Healthy Pilot InitiativeCollaborative Effort among Department of Social
Services, Department of Health and Environmental Control, and Arnold School of Public Health at USC and funded by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Nutrition and physical activity standards being evaluated in a pilot test in 19 child care centers in South Carolina
Nutrition and Physical Activity StandardsNutrition Policy -- create and consistently implement written
nutrition policies that address the 17 standards listed below (e.g., skim or 1% milk for children, do not serve sugar sweetened beverages, offer fruit (not juice) two times per day)
Physical Activity Policy -- create and consistently implement written physical activity policies that address the 15 standards listed below (e.g., provide daily outdoor play for at least 30 minutes for every 4 hours in program, provide outdoor portable play equipment, provide space for physical activity in case of bad weather)
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Applied Interventions
Hannon, J. C., & Brown, B. B. (2008). Increasing preschoolers' physical activity intensities: An activity-friendly preschool playground intervention. Preventive Medicine, 46, 532-536.
Brown, W. H., Googe, H. S., McIver, K. L., & Rathel, J. M. (2009). Effects of teacher-encouraged physical activity on preschool playgrounds. Journal of Early Intervention, 31(2), 126-145.
Teacher Enhanced Outdoor Physical Activity (Hannon & Brown, 2008)
Addition of portable materials related to running, jumping, and crawling (e.g., playground balls, hoops, target toss sets, tunnels)
New materials were arranged into activity stations around the playground
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Hannon and Brown (2008) Results
Three- to five-year-old girls and boys decreased sedentary behavior when materials present
Three- to five-year-old girls and boys increased light, moderate, and vigorous activity when materials present
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Teacher-Implemented Physical Activities
Activity-based intervention with a focus on children’s physical activity (cf. Bricker)
Modified “Plan, Do, and Review Process” (cf. High Scope) that focuses on encouraging MVPA during group activities at outdoor playtime
“Plan, Do, and Review Process”
Initial teacher discussion allows the teacher to “set the stage” for an activity (“PLANNING PHASE”)
Teacher participation with modeling PA or at least monitoring and careful supervision, increases the likelihood of children’s active engagement (“DOING PHASE”)
“Plan, Do, and Review Process”
Immediately after high-energy physical activity, employ a “COOL DOWN” strategy Examples: talking in soft relaxed voice, modeling deep
breathing to slowly relax participants, and providing a clear signal for the end of the high-energy activity
“Plan, Do, and Review Process”
Teacher discussion and feedback creates a classroom atmosphere that promotes healthy behaviors (“REVIEWING PHASE”)
Debriefing with children will also be a “teaching context” for preschoolers’ self-evaluation and development of their self-regulation
Main Messages
1. Preschool children need more physical activity during appropriate times of the school day
2. Preschool teachers are on the “front lines” of prevention in promoting healthy habits, dispositions, and lifestyles for young children’s physical activity
Main Messages
3. Preschool teachers “ought” to be proactive in implementing high-interest and high-energy activities that are embedded at appropriate times during the school day
Questions and DiscussionThank You!
William H. Brown
College of Education
University of South Carolina
Children’s Physical Activity Research Group
http://www.sph.sc.edu/USC_CPARG/
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