Effects of playground activities on development of motor ... · type, location and organization of...
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Effects of playground activities on development of motor skills in 5 years old children P. Tortella¹, G.Fumagalli1, 1- Department of Diagnostics and Public Health – University of Verona HEPA EUROPE IN BELFAST NORTHERN IRELAND September 2016 www.0246.it www.infanziaemovimento.it [email protected] Reference Cardon G., et al., (2008).The contribution of preschool playground factors in explaining children's physical activity during recess. Int J Behav Nutr Phys. Act., 5, 11. Dowda M., et al., (2009). Policies and characteristics of the preschool environment and physical activity of young children, Pediatrics. 123: e261–6. Fjørtoft I., et al., (2011). Measuring physical fitness in children who are 5 to 12 years old with a test battery that is functional and easy to administer. Phys Ther., 91, 1087–95. Gubbels JS., et al., (2012). Play equipment, physical activity opportunities, and children’s activity levels at childcare. J Environ Public Health, 326520. Henderson SE., et al., (2007).The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2: Movement ABC-2. Pearson Canada Assessment Inc. Leversen JS., et al. (2012). From children to adults: motor performance across the lifespan. PloS one, 7:e38830. Sugiyama T., et al., (2012). Attributes of childcare centers and outdoor play areas associated with preschoolers’ physical activity and sedentary behavior. Environ Behav., 44, 334–49. Tortella P., et al., (2016). Motor Skill Development in Italian Pre-School Children Induced by Structured Activities in a Specific Playground. PLoS ONE,11(7), e0160244. Introduction Sedentary behavior contributes to obesity and to diffusion of noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases. In Italy approximately 30% of children (both male and female) are obese or overweight. The condition is especially severe in southern Italy, with minimal national changes in the period 2008-14. Several initiatives have been conducted in Italy to increase levels of motor activities in elementary school children, the rationale being that intervention on young children have large and persistent effects on life styles. However amount, intensity and level of physical activities performed by children mostly depend on: 1- levels of motor competence (gross and fine motor skills) acquired during infancy (preschool); 2- presence of opportunities for practicing movement-based play. Further conditions impacting on physical activity levels of preschooler are: i) type, location and organization of spaces (indoor and outdoor); ii) types of activities (free play less efficient than structured activities) Overweight and obesity in 6-9 years old children in some European countries. (Threshold by International Obesity Task Force – IOTF). WHO/Europe - Childhood Obese. ty Surveillance Initiative, 2010 Italy Prevalence of overweight and obesity in italian regions. Italy, 2008/09-2014. Okkio alla salute http://www.iss.it/binary/publ/cont/ONLINE_Okkio. pdf 2014 2008 2009 2011 2012 The children The study involved 110 children (5 y old) from local kindergarden. Seventyone children came to the playground for 1 hour once a week for 10 consecutive weeks; the remaining 39 did not come to the playground. Activities stared in March 2012 and were concluded in May 2012. During each hour at the park, the children had two types of experiences: 1- for 30 min they played activities organized by the researchers in such a way that each child spent 10 min in the manuality area, 10 min in the mobility area and 10 min in the balance area; 2- for 30 min they were free to play where and how they wanted (free play). Levels of gross and fine motor skills were assessed on all 110 children before (March) and at the end (May) of the “training season by selected items of Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Test of Motor Competence, Test of Physical Fitness Results The children of the «experimental group» performed significantly better at the end of the training period in four gross-motor tasks (one-leg balance-left foot, balance on beam, balance of platform, and putting a medicine ball). No changes were detected in the three fine-motor skill tasks . Conclusion 1- The group who practiced gross motor activities in the specific playground improved significantly in four out of six gross motor tasks compared to the control group. 2- No changes were induced on fine motor skills by the activities at the park indicating that practice of gross motor skills was not associated to transfer of skill in the fine motor skill domain 3- Practice of gross motor skills at Primo Sport 0246, the playground specifically designed to promote development of gross motor skills in preschoolers, had larger effects on motor skills than the activities played in the kindergarden Aims 1- Experiment a playground specifically designed to promote development in 3-6 y old children of basic motor skills in the area of mobility, manuality and balance. 2- Evaluate the effects and specificity of a program of organized physical activities performed at the specific playground on the development of motor skills in five years old children. The playground Primo Sport 0246 is a playground specifically designed to stimulate development of basic motor skills in 0-6 y old children. It is located at La Ghirada, a multifunctional private area dedicated to sports of different types (including rugby, basket and volley) at different levels (from professionals to amateurs). Types of instruments and their distribution in the playground define spaces where children can practice selected basic motor skills (manuality, balance and mobility). Test Pre- training Post- training Difference Pre vs Post p Pre vs Post p Exp vs Con Post- training Medicine Ball (cm) Exp 192±44 229±50 37±66 <0.0001 <0.001 Con 191±45 192±48 1±37 NS One leg balance- Right (sec) Exp 13.64±9.88 18.37±14.83 4.73±15.50 <0.05 NS Con 13.34±9.32 16.19±13.94 2.85±14.44 NS One leg balance- Left (sec) Exp 12.46±6.42 20.48±5.81 8.16±7.21 <0.0001 <0.04 Con 14.47±2.80 17.15±3.39 3.16±5.59 NS Balance Beam (sec) Exp 15.81±5.30 9.29±3.16 -6.53±5.58 <0.0001 <0.001 Con 15.11±6.45 12.84±5.96 -2.27±4.40 NS Balance on Platforms (sec) Exp 35.12±23.57 10.47±2.75 -24.65±22.59 <0.001 <0.0001 Con 27.22±14.00 24.19±13.30 -3.03±12.67 <0.05 Heel-to-Toe Walking (sec) Exp 34.74±13.66 33.14±11.38 -1.60±15.31 NS <0.001 Con 34.04±15.23 43.70±11.52 9.66±14.79 0.001 Bonferroni’s test. All data are expressed as mean±standard deviation Examples of results of fine motor skills tests Discussion These results highlight the sensitivity of preschoolers to the effects of exposure to organized physical activities during school time. Specific training affects the development of some motor skill competences and not others. Our data are in line with Edelman’s Theory premises. Indeed, the largest improvements induced by the training occurred with tests performed on equipments that were present in the park.
Transcript of Effects of playground activities on development of motor ... · type, location and organization of...
Effects of playground activities on development of motor skills
in 5 years old children P. Tortella¹, G.Fumagalli1,
1- Department of Diagnostics and Public Health – University of Verona
HEPA EUROPE IN BELFAST NORTHERN IRELAND September 2016
www.0246.it www.infanziaemovimento.it [email protected]
Reference Cardon G., et al., (2008).The contribution of preschool
playground factors in explaining children's physical activity
during recess. Int J Behav Nutr Phys. Act., 5, 11.
Dowda M., et al., (2009). Policies and characteristics of the
preschool environment and physical activity of young children,
Pediatrics. 123: e261–6.
Fjørtoft I., et al., (2011). Measuring physical fitness in children
who are 5 to 12 years old with a test battery that is functional
and easy to administer. Phys Ther., 91, 1087–95.
Gubbels JS., et al., (2012). Play equipment, physical activity
opportunities, and children’s activity levels at childcare. J
Environ Public Health, 326520.
Henderson SE., et al., (2007).The Movement Assessment
Battery for Children-2: Movement ABC-2. Pearson Canada
Assessment Inc.
Leversen JS., et al. (2012). From children to adults: motor
performance across the lifespan. PloS one, 7:e38830.
Sugiyama T., et al., (2012). Attributes of childcare centers and
outdoor play areas associated with preschoolers’ physical
activity and sedentary behavior. Environ Behav., 44, 334–49.
Tortella P., et al., (2016). Motor Skill Development in Italian
Pre-School Children Induced by Structured Activities in a
Specific Playground. PLoS ONE,11(7), e0160244.
Introduction Sedentary behavior contributes to
obesity and to diffusion of
noncommunicable diseases, such as
cardiovascular diseases, cancer,
diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases. In Italy approximately 30% of children
(both male and female) are obese or
overweight.
The condition is especially severe in
southern Italy, with minimal national
changes in the period 2008-14.
Several initiatives have been conducted
in Italy to increase levels of motor
activities in elementary school children,
the rationale being that intervention on
young children have large and persistent
effects on life styles. However amount,
intensity and level of physical
activities performed by children mostly
depend on: 1- levels of motor
competence (gross and fine motor skills)
acquired during infancy (preschool); 2-
presence of opportunities for practicing
movement-based play.
Further conditions impacting on physical
activity levels of preschooler are: i)
type, location and organization of
spaces (indoor and outdoor); ii) types of
activities (free play less efficient than structured activities)
Overweight and obesity in 6-9 years old children
in some European countries. (Threshold by
International Obesity Task Force – IOTF).
WHO/Europe - Childhood Obese.
ty Surveillance Initiative, 2010
Italy
Prevalence of overweight and obesity in italian
regions. Italy, 2008/09-2014. Okkio alla salute
http://www.iss.it/binary/publ/cont/ONLINE_Okkio.
2014
2008
2009 2011
2012
The children The study involved 110 children (5 y old) from local
kindergarden. Seventyone children came to the
playground for 1 hour once a week for 10 consecutive
weeks; the remaining 39 did not come to the
playground. Activities stared in March 2012 and were
concluded in May 2012.
During each hour at the park, the children had two
types of experiences: 1- for 30 min they played
activities organized by the researchers in such a way
that each child spent 10 min in the manuality area, 10
min in the mobility area and 10 min in the balance area;
2- for 30 min they were free to play where and how
they wanted (free play).
Levels of gross and fine motor skills were assessed on
all 110 children before (March) and at the end (May) of
the “training season by selected items of Movement
Assessment Battery for Children, Test of Motor
Competence, Test of Physical Fitness
Results The children of the «experimental group» performed
significantly better at the end of the training period in
four gross-motor tasks (one-leg balance-left foot,
balance on beam, balance of platform, and putting a
medicine ball). No changes were detected in the three
fine-motor skill tasks .
Conclusion
1- The group who practiced gross motor activities in the
specific playground improved significantly in four out of
six gross motor tasks compared to the control group.
2- No changes were induced on fine motor skills by the
activities at the park indicating that practice of gross
motor skills was not associated to transfer of skill in the
fine motor skill domain
3- Practice of gross motor skills at Primo Sport 0246, the
playground specifically designed to promote development
of gross motor skills in preschoolers, had larger effects on
motor skills than the activities played in the kindergarden
Aims 1- Experiment a playground specifically designed to
promote development in 3-6 y old children of basic
motor skills in the area of mobility, manuality and
balance.
2- Evaluate the effects and specificity of a program
of organized physical activities performed at the
specific playground on the development of motor
skills in five years old children.
The playground Primo Sport 0246 is a playground specifically
designed to stimulate development of basic motor
skills in 0-6 y old children. It is located at La
Ghirada, a multifunctional private area dedicated to
sports of different types (including rugby, basket and
volley) at different levels (from professionals to
amateurs). Types of instruments and their
distribution in the playground define spaces where
children can practice selected basic motor skills
(manuality, balance and mobility).
Test Pre-
training
Post-
training
Difference
Pre vs Post
p
Pre vs
Post
p
Exp vs
Con
Post-
training
Medicine
Ball (cm)
Exp 192±44 229±50 37±66 <0.0001 <0.001
Con 191±45 192±48 1±37 NS
One leg
balance-
Right (sec)
Exp 13.64±9.88 18.37±14.83 4.73±15.50 <0.05
NS Con 13.34±9.32 16.19±13.94 2.85±14.44 NS
One leg
balance-
Left (sec)
Exp 12.46±6.42 20.48±5.81 8.16±7.21 <0.0001
<0.04 Con 14.47±2.80 17.15±3.39 3.16±5.59 NS
Balance
Beam (sec)
Exp 15.81±5.30 9.29±3.16 -6.53±5.58 <0.0001 <0.001
Con 15.11±6.45 12.84±5.96 -2.27±4.40 NS
Balance on
Platforms
(sec)
Exp 35.12±23.57 10.47±2.75 -24.65±22.59 <0.001 <0.0001
Con 27.22±14.00 24.19±13.30 -3.03±12.67 <0.05
Heel-to-Toe
Walking
(sec)
Exp 34.74±13.66 33.14±11.38 -1.60±15.31 NS
<0.001 Con 34.04±15.23 43.70±11.52 9.66±14.79 0.001
Bonferroni’s test. All data are
expressed as mean±standard
deviation
Examples of results
of fine motor skills
tests
Discussion These results highlight the sensitivity of preschoolers to
the effects of exposure to organized physical activities
during school time.
Specific training affects the development of some motor
skill competences and not others.
Our data are in line with Edelman’s Theory premises.
Indeed, the largest improvements induced by the training
occurred with tests performed on equipments that were
present in the park.
