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Friends On The Playground: Associations With Physical Activity Levels In A Preschool Sample, Kevin Francis Karl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child obesity rates have reached an all-time high in the United States; with rates doubling over the past 30 years for children ages 2-5 (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2004). This increase in obesity rates has led to increased research directed at understanding the causes in order to begin to reverse the trend and prevent our children from becoming obese. The literature shows that several key variables, including child physical activity level, parent physical activity level, and peer influences on the playground are related to childhood obesity (Epstein, 2005; Salvy, 2008; Trost, et al., 2003). Much of this …