TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2007//
TI  - Physical activity patterns of kindergarten children in comparison to teenagers and young adults
JO  - European journal of public health
A1  - Sigmund, Erik
A1  - De Ste Croix, Mark
A1  - Miklánková, Ludmila
A1  - Frömel, Karel
SP  - 646
EP  - 651
VL  - 17
IS  - 6
N2  - BACKGROUND: Due to the increasing occurrence of obesity and low physical activity (PA) reported in school children there is a need to investigate PA patterns of preschool children. Our aim was to identify the PA of preschool children in comparison to the PA of teenagers and young adults. METHODS: PA of 104 Czech preschool children (aged 5-7 years), 1174 teenagers (aged 12-17 years) and 787 young adults (aged 18-24 years) was determined using Caltrac accelerometery. PA was evaluated on the basis of activity energy expenditure (AEE--kcal kg(-1) day(-1)). Subjects were monitored over 7 days to include a weekend. RESULTS: The AEE in preschool children was significantly higher in comparison to all age groups of teenagers and young adults during both weekdays and at the weekend (P<0.0001). On weekdays during leisure time, preschoolers were considerably more physically active than all categories of teenagers and young adults (P<0.001). Preschoolers show similarities in PA level between weekdays and weekends, unlike the older age groups. CONCLUSION: It seems to appear that organized daily PA (2x20 min of exercising on carpet, 50-70 min of walking outdoors) in preschool children along with enough space for spontaneous PA establishes prerequisites for their further healthy development.<p /> <p>Language: en</p> 
LA  - en
SN  - 1101-1262
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckm033
ID  - ref1
ER  -