Citation

Tortella P, Haga M, Ingebrigtsen JE, Fumagalli GF, Sigmundsson H. Front. Public Health 2019; 7: e197.

Affiliation

Sports Science Department, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Frontiers Editorial Office)

DOI

10.3389/fpubh.2019.00197

PMID

31380337

PMCID

PMC6646727

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare how the organization of a movement session as partly structured play or free play influenced the physical activity engagement in 4-5 years old pre-schoolers. The partly structured playgroup consisted of 46 children and the free playgroup consisted of 33 children. The playground activities consisted of 10 sessions each lasting 1 h, executed once per week in the period Mars to May 2017 at a specific playground setting. The partly structured playgroup conducted a movement activity session that included a combination of both structured- and free play activities. The free playgroup engaged in unstructured play, only. To detect the intensity of the physical activity each child carried an accelerometer 1 h the first week and last week of the intervention.

RESULTS indicate a significant difference in physical activity level between the two groups for the 5-year-old in the favor of the partly structured playgroup. There was a significant difference between the four-and 5-year-old in relation to physical activity level. No significant difference between the activity in March and May for the whole group was found.

Language: en

Keywords

kindergarten; motor development; movement skills; organization; outdoor play