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The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on April 12, 2007
The European Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckm033
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Physical activity patterns of kindergarten children in comparison to teenagers and young adults

Erik Sigmund1, Mark De Ste Croix2, Ludmila Miklánková1 and Karel Frömel1

1 Center for Kinanthropology Research, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic
2 Faculty of Sport, Health and Social Care, University of Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

Correspondence: Erik Sigmund, Ph.D., Center for Kinanthropology Research, Faculty of Physical Culture, Trida Miru 115, 771 11 Olomouc, Czech Republic, tel: +420 585 636 117, fax: +420 585 412 899, e-mail: erik.sigmund{at}upol.cz

Received October 5, 2006 , accepted March 19, 2007

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 18–24years) 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 (2 x 20 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.

Keywords: activity energy expenditure, leisure-time, school, weekdays, weekend


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