Social and environmental factors associated with preschoolers’ nonsedentary physical activity

The twofold purposes of the investigation were (a) to describe with direct observation data the physical activity behaviors and the accompanying social and environmental events of those behaviors for children in preschools and (b) to determine which contextual conditions were predictors of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and nonsedentary physical activity (i.e., light activity +MVPA) for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children during their outdoor play. The results indicate that preschoolers ’ physical activity is characterized as sedentary in nature throughout their preschool day (i.e., 89 % sedentary, 8 % light activity, and 3 % MVPA). During outdoor play periods, when children are most likely to be physically active, some contextual and social circumstances better predict their physical activity. Implications for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers are discussed. Recently, the childhood obesity rate has increased considerably in the United States, and many children are becoming overweight at younger ages. Ogden et al. (2006) reported that the prevalence rate of at risk for overweight (i.e., 85th percentile) among 2- to 5-year-old children in the United States was 26.2%, and during the past 5 years, the rate increased by 4.2%. Within the United States, some populations, such as African American, Hispanic, and low-income chil-dren, have had even higher prevalence rates for childhood weight difficulties (e.g., Haas et al., 2003