Kindergarten: Producer or reducer of inequality regarding physical activity levels of preschool children

The study investigates kindergarten children’s level of physical activity in kindergarten. Children's level of activity in kindergarten is also investigated in relation to the level of activity in their spare time, the gender of the child and maternal level of education, income and age. The aim of the study is to shed light on whether kindergartens succeed in reducing inequalities in physical activity among children (ages 4-6) in their spare time by giving all children the same level of activity in kindergarten.

The study asks the following research questions:

1. How do kindergartens contribute to achieving the international health recommendation of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for children in kindergartens?
2. Are there any differences between MVPA in different kindergartens?
3. To what extent is children’s MVPA in kindergarten linked to gender and maternal level of education, income and age?
4. Do the kindergartens succeed in creating satisfactory levels of MVPA in kindergarten, especially for kindergarten children with low levels of activity in their spare time?

The results indicate that the physical level of activity during the kindergarten day is the main contribution to the children’s physical level of activity during weekdays. Furthermore, boys were more active than girls. Children’s level of activity in their spare time and in kindergarten were not linked to maternal education, age, level of education or income. However, a positive correlation was found between physical level of activity in spare time and physical level of activity in kindergarten. The physical level of activity in kindergarten increases when the physical level of activity in spare time increases. Children’s physical level of activity also differed from kindergarten to kindergarten, which may create differences in the form of low-active and highly active children.

244 children, 125 boys and 119 girls, submitted valid accelerometer data. Information about maternal level of education, income, and age was obtained using a questionnaire. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and linear regression were used in the static analyses. 13 kindergartens from Nord-Trøndelag in Norway were selected to participate in the study.

Kippe, K. O. & Lagestad, P. A. (2018). "Kindergarten: Producer or reducer of inequality regarding physical activity levels of preschool children". Frontiers in Public Health, (2018) 6:1-9.