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Open AccessArticle
Effects of an 8-Week Active Play Intervention on Body Composition and Fundamental Motor Skills in Preschool Children †
by
Katherine E. Spring
Katherine E. Spring 1,2,*,
Danielle Lang
Danielle Lang 1,3,
Melissa M. Pangelinan
Melissa M. Pangelinan 1,4 and
Danielle D. Wadsworth
Danielle D. Wadsworth 1
1
School of Kinesiology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
2
Pediatric Obesity and Health Behavior Laboratory, Division of Population and Public Health Science, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA
3
Research Transition Office, Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
4
School of Public Health Bloomington, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
This is part of the PhD thesis of Katherine E. Spring at Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
Children 2024, 11(10), 1173; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11101173 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 4 September 2024
/
Revised: 23 September 2024
/
Accepted: 25 September 2024
/
Published: 26 September 2024
Abstract
Objective: Examine the effect of an 8-week teacher-guided active play intervention on preschoolers’ body composition and fundamental motor skills. Methods: Participants were from two local preschool centers randomly assigned to either the intervention (n = 25, 3.91 ± 0.53 years) or the control group (n = 25, 3.69 ± 0.81 years). All measures were assessed at baseline (week 0), post-intervention (weeks 9–11), and follow-up (weeks 30–33). Bioelectrical Impedance assessed body composition (fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM)). The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Second Edition (PDMS-2) assessed fundamental motor skills (gross motor quartile (GMQ)). Results: A significant Group × Time interaction for GMQ at post-intervention (p = 0.03), with the intervention group scoring significantly higher on GMQ. A significant main effect of Time (p < 0.001) indicated that GMQ increased in both groups across the 33-week period. For FM, a significant main effect of Time at both post-intervention (p < 0.05) and follow-up testing (p < 0.001) indicated that participants increased FM over the 33-week period. Lastly, there was a significant main effect of Time for FFM at post-intervention (p = 0.003) and follow-up (p < 0.001). Interestingly, there was a significant Group x Time interaction (p < 0.05) at follow-up testing showing that FFM increased over time but significantly more for the control group. Conclusions: Results indicate that active play interventions might be a successful pathway to improve gross motor skills in young children. Further research is needed to understand the effect that active play interventions have on body composition in preschoolers.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Spring, K.E.; Lang, D.; Pangelinan, M.M.; Wadsworth, D.D.
Effects of an 8-Week Active Play Intervention on Body Composition and Fundamental Motor Skills in Preschool Children. Children 2024, 11, 1173.
https://doi.org/10.3390/children11101173
AMA Style
Spring KE, Lang D, Pangelinan MM, Wadsworth DD.
Effects of an 8-Week Active Play Intervention on Body Composition and Fundamental Motor Skills in Preschool Children. Children. 2024; 11(10):1173.
https://doi.org/10.3390/children11101173
Chicago/Turabian Style
Spring, Katherine E., Danielle Lang, Melissa M. Pangelinan, and Danielle D. Wadsworth.
2024. "Effects of an 8-Week Active Play Intervention on Body Composition and Fundamental Motor Skills in Preschool Children" Children 11, no. 10: 1173.
https://doi.org/10.3390/children11101173
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