Active Early: one-year policy intervention to increase physical activity among early care and education programs in Wisconsin.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Read Online Read More Add to Saved list
  • Additional Information
    • Corporate Authors:
      Wisconsin Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative (WECOPI)
    • Source:
      Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968562 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2458 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712458 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001-
    • Subject Terms:
      Exercise* ; Health Policy*; Child Care/*legislation & jurisprudence ; Health Promotion/*legislation & jurisprudence ; Program Evaluation/*statistics & numerical data; Accelerometry ; Child ; Child Care/methods ; Child, Preschool ; Environment ; Female ; Health Plan Implementation ; Health Promotion/methods ; Humans ; Male ; Pediatric Obesity/prevention & control ; Wisconsin
    • Abstract:
      Background: Early childcare and education (ECE) is a prime setting for obesity prevention and the establishment of healthy behaviors. The objective of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the efficacy of the Active Early guide, which includes evidenced-based approaches, provider resources, and training, to improve physical activity opportunities through structured (i.e. teacher-led) activity and environmental changes thereby increasing physical activity among children, ages 2-5 years, in the ECE setting.
      Methods: Twenty ECE programs in Wisconsin, 7 family and 13 group, were included. An 80-page guide, Active Early, was developed by experts and statewide partners in the fields of ECE, public health, and physical activity and was revised by ECE providers prior to implementation. Over 12 months, ECE programs received on-site training and technical assistance to implement the strategies and resources provided in the Active Early guide. Main outcome measures included observed minutes of teacher-led physical activity, physical activity environment measured by the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) instrument, and child physical activity levels via accelerometry. All measures were collected at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months and were analyzed for changes over time.
      Results: Observed teacher-led physical activity significantly increased from 30.9 ± 22.7 min at baseline to 82.3 ± 41.3 min at 12 months. The change in percent time children spent in sedentary activity decreased significantly after 12 months (-4.4 ± 14.2 % time, -29.2 ± 2.6 min, p < 0.02). Additionally, as teacher led-activity increased, percent time children were sedentary decreased (r = -0.37, p < 0.05) and percent time spent in light physical activity increased (r = 0.35, p < 0.05). Among all ECE programs, the physical activity environment improved significantly as indicated by multiple sub-scales of the EPAO; scores showing the greatest increases were the Training and Education (14.5 ± 6.5 at 12-months vs. 2.4 ± 3.8 at baseline, p < 0.01) and Physical Activity Policy (18.6 ± 4.6 at 12-months vs. 2.0 ± 4.1 at baseline, p < 0.01).
      Conclusions: Active Early promoted improvements in providing structured (i.e. teacher-led) physical activity beyond the recommended 60 daily minutes using low- to no-cost strategies along with training and environmental changes. Furthermore, it was observed that Active Early positively impacted child physical activity levels by the end of the intervention. However, resources, training, and technical assistance may be necessary for ECE programs to be successful beyond the use of the Active Early guide. Implementing local-level physical activity policies combined with support from local and statewide partners has the potential to influence higher standards for regulated ECE programs.
    • References:
      Prev Chronic Dis. 2014 Oct 16;11:E183. (PMID: 25321634)
      J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014 May-Jun;46(3):171-80. (PMID: 24406269)
      Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Jan;38(1):152-7. (PMID: 16394968)
      Obes Res. 2003 Oct;11(10):1155-8. (PMID: 14569038)
      Prev Chronic Dis. 2013 Oct 24;10:E174. (PMID: 24157077)
      N Engl J Med. 2014 Jan 30;370(5):403-11. (PMID: 24476431)
      Child Care Health Dev. 2015 Jan;41(1):122-31. (PMID: 24602099)
      Obes Rev. 2008 Sep;9(5):474-88. (PMID: 18331423)
      Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2014 Nov 22;11:139. (PMID: 25416613)
      Obes Rev. 2012 Mar;13 Suppl 1:85-95. (PMID: 22309067)
      Proc Nutr Soc. 2008 Aug;67(3):317-25. (PMID: 18700053)
      BMC Public Health. 2013 Aug 07;13:728. (PMID: 23919808)
      J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2014 Jul-Aug;35(6):378-87. (PMID: 25007060)
      Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004 Sep;36(9):1625-31. (PMID: 15354047)
      Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 Dec 07;(12):CD001871. (PMID: 22161367)
      J Law Med Ethics. 2013 Winter;41 Suppl 2:8-18. (PMID: 24446993)
      Am J Prev Med. 2008 Oct;35(4):352-6. (PMID: 18701236)
      Pediatrics. 2011 Apr;127(4):658-64. (PMID: 21422082)
      Prev Chronic Dis. 2007 Jul;4(3):A67. (PMID: 17572971)
      Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2010 May 11;7:40. (PMID: 20459784)
      Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010 Feb;18 Suppl 1:S27-35. (PMID: 20107458)
      Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Mar;42(3):502-7. (PMID: 20068499)
      Int J Pediatr Obes. 2009;4(4):281-8. (PMID: 19922043)
    • Grant Information:
      T32 DK007665 United States DK NIDDK NIH HHS; U58 DP001997 United States DP NCCDPHP CDC HHS
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Accelerometry; Early care and education; Environment and policy assessment and observation; Obesity prevention; Physical activity
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20160722 Date Completed: 20170901 Latest Revision: 20191210
    • Publication Date:
      20240829
    • Accession Number:
      PMC4955211
    • Accession Number:
      10.1186/s12889-016-3198-3
    • Accession Number:
      27439770