TV Viewing and South Dakota Preschoolers

Objective: To determine whether preschool children (3 to 6 years of age) in lower income ( Design: This project is part of a needs assessment and planning process for the South Dakota Department of Health. The purpose was to collect data regarding TV viewing of preschool children in order to develop programs that target childhood obesity through increased physical activity and the reduction of sedentary behaviors. Subjects: One-thousand four hundred and ninety two licensed daycare providers and 4979 parents of preschoolers in South Dakota. Methods: A two phase survey protocol was designed. Phase 1) South Dakota licensed day care providers completed a survey of facility activities and distributed surveys to parents of preschoolers. Phase 2) Parents completed surveys with demographic data and reported child’s weight/height, eating and activity behaviors. Statistical Analysis: Data was analyzed using SAS Version 9.0. Results of Chi-square analysis were considered significant at the p Results: Phase 1 A total 433 daycares of the 1430 eligible facilities participated in the survey process, including 316 (73.0%) home, 75 (17.3%) center, and 42 (9.7%) group family-based daycares, Time spent in activity is associated to daycare type. The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel X2test indicated statistical differences in screen time (X2=69.12, p activities {X2= 7.62, p2=12.6,