The Relationship Between Maternal and Obese Children's Daily Physical Activity.

This study examined the effects of maternal influence on child's daily physical activity. Participants consisted of eight families; parents (n = 9) and obese children (n = 10). Families were asked to attend exercise sessions at a university laboratory for 10 weeks. Daily physical activity was measured with a MovBand 3 which is a wrist worn accelerometer that records physical activity as moves. Linear mixed-effects models were used to predict daily physical activity over time and child physical activity as a function of parent physical activity on a day-to-day basis. Physical activity for all participants did not change significantly (p > .05) over the course of the intervention, however, there was a significant (p = .001) relationship between maternal and child physical activity showing for every step a mother took their child took 1.2 steps. On average, mothers achieved 2825.18 ± 1282.77 fewer moves than their children on a daily basis. Encouraging parents to engage in physical activity with their children may have a positive impact on their obese child's daily physical activity involvement.

Changes in Fundamental Motor-Skill Performance Following a Nine-Month Mastery Motivational Climate Intervention.

Purpose: Children who do not learn their fundamental motor skills (FMS) are more likely to be unskilled, sedentary adults. By consequence, it behooves those teaching physical education to put in place mechanisms that promote as well as motivate children to master their FMS. One approach to achieving this goal is through the adoption of mastery motivational climates (MMC) in physical education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a year-long (9-month) MMC physical education program on preschool children's FMS learning. Method: Participants (N = 96, MMC = 58, Comparison = 38) completed the Test of Gross Motor Development-Third Edition prior to and after intervention. Intact classrooms were randomly assigned to either a MMC or comparison group. A repeated measures nested MANOVA was used to test changes by group. Follow-up measurements included univariate repeated measures and simple effects analyses. Results: There were no significant multivariate differences based on class membership (p = .249), indicating the nested structure was not associated with any meaningful differences in test scores. There was a significant multivariate difference based on the interaction of time (pre- versus post-test) and group (p < .001). Both locomotor and ball skills significantly varied between groups and across time. Children in both groups improved from pre-test to post-test, but the rate of improvement was significantly greater for the MMC group. Conclusions: A year-long MMC intervention is beneficial for improving children's FMS.

Let's Wiggle with 5-2-1-0: Curriculum Development for Training Childcare Providers to Promote Activity in Childcare Settings.

Overweight and obesity are increasing in preschool children in the US. Policy, systems, and environmental change interventions in childcare settings can improve obesity-related behaviors. The aim of this study was to develop and pilot an intervention to train childcare providers to promote physical activity (PA) in childcare classrooms. An evidence scan, key informant (n = 34) and focus group (n = 20) interviews with childcare directors and staff, and environmental self-assessment of childcare facilities (n = 22) informed the design of the training curriculum. Feedback from the interviews indicated that childcare providers believed in the importance of teaching children about PA and were supportive of training teachers to incorporate PA into classroom settings. The Promoting Physical Activity in Childcare Setting Curriculum was developed and training was implemented with 16 teachers. Participants reported a positive experience with the hands-on training and reported acquiring new knowledge that they intended to implement in their childcare settings. Our findings highlight the feasibility of working with childcare staff to develop PA training and curriculum. Next steps include evaluating the curriculum in additional childcare settings and childcare staff implementation of the curriculum to understand the effectiveness of the training on PA levels of children.