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Assessing Physical Activity And Sedentary Time In The Early Years, Leigh M. Vanderloo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The overall purpose of this dissertation was to explore young children’s (18 months to 5 years) physical activity and sedentary time. Study 1 assessed the physical activity and sedentary time among a sample of toddlers from London, Canada using two data processing approaches. Study 2 explored the impact of three different early learning environments, and their respective characteristics (e.g., staff behaviours, equipment, sedentary opportunities, etc.), on preschoolers’ activity levels. Study 3 examined differences in two popular accelerometers used to measure young children’s physical activity and sedentary time to better understand measurement discrepancies.

Study 1 revealed that toddlers engaged in 37.27 …

The Influence Of The Childcare Environment On Physical Activity Among Preschool-Aged Children: A Feasibility Study, Leigh M. Vanderloo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study sought to: (1) measure moderate-vigorous physical activity (PA) levels of a sample of preschoolers; (2) assess which attributes (e.g., space, equipment, policies) within centre-based childcare environments influence PA; and, (3) pilot the methodology to ensure the feasibility of undertaking a full-scale study. Thirty-one preschoolers from five childcare centres across London, Canada participated. Actical® accelerometers were worn by participants for one day during childcare hours to assess activity levels using a 15-second epoch length. The Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation instrument was used to conduct a full-day evaluation of the childcare environment. On average, participants engaged in 11.45 …