Preschoolers at child care centers need more time outside

CINCINNATI, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Preschool-age children spend a lot of their waking time at child care centers, making the outdoor playtime during those hours more important because they may be the children's best opportunity to get it.

Despite guidelines suggesting children get at least 60 minutes playing outdoors per day, researchers in a study in Cincinnati found most children were getting far less than that

"We know daily physical activity is essential for children's growth and development. It improves cardiovascular and bone health and has been linked to improved mood, attention, and cognitive performance," said Dr. Kristen Copeland, a researcher at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center, in a press release. "Yet, few preschoolers are meeting daily physical activity recommendations of 60 minutes or more per day."

The researchers evaluated the policies of 30 randomly selected child care centers in Cincinnati, measuring vigorous physical activity at the centers and over the course of a 24-hour day in 388 children from November 2009 through January 2011.

Despite 90 percent of the centers reporting they schedule two or more outdoor play periods per day, only 40 percent of children in the study had two or more sessions and 32 percent had no time outside. Of these, 83 percent reported children were scheduled for at least 60 minutes outside, however just 28 percent of children were observed to do so.

Children who spent at least 60 minutes outside were seen in the study to be more active over the course of a full 24-hour day than children who didn't get the play time.

"These opportunities may be especially important for children who lack opportunities to be active at home," Copeland said. "That's why what happens in the child care centers has important and lasting effects for children's total daily levels of activity."

The study is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.