Kids Play Harder With "Toys"

Making News:

Researchers are spending more time finding out what kinds of things will make children more likely to move their bodies. One recent study, conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health, found that kids play harder and longer when childcare centers have portable play equipment (toys) such as balls and jump ropes. The study, which focused on environmental factors that encourage activity, appeared in the January issue of American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2008, 34 [1], 23–29).

“Childhood obesity…threatens the future health of our nation,” said Dianne Ward, director of the School of Public Health nutrition department’s intervention and policy division and a co-author of the study, in a press release. “We know that about 57% of all 3- to 5-year-olds in the United States attend childcare centers, so it’s important to understand what factors will encourage them to be more active and, hopefully, less likely to become obese.”

Researchers assessed physical and social environmental factors considered influential to healthy weight at 20 North Carolina childcare centers. The findings showed that children spent greater amounts of time on moderate and vigorous physical activities and less time on sedentary activities in centers that had more portable play equipment, including balls, hoops, jump ropes and riding toys; that offered more opportunities for active play (inside and outside); and that provided physical activity training and education to staff and students.

Stationary equipment, such as climbing structures, swings and balance beams, were associated with lower-intensity physical activity, researchers said, but were beneficial to other aspects of child development, such as motor and social skills.