Physical Activity and Screen-Time Regulations in Childcare Centers - Aim 2

Physical activity will be measured with a 7 day accelerometer at baseline and 1 year, including minutes/day MVPA in childcare center, minutes/day MVPA total. Physical activity and time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity will be measured by a triaxial accelerometer (Actigraph GT3X+, Actigraph of Ft. Walton Beach, FL). Children will be measured on 7 full days during the baseline and follow-up periods.The Actigraph is one of the most common accelerometers used for scientific purposes, and the GT3X+ version provides extensive data on steps/day and time spent in various activity intensities. The research team will ask the parents to have the children wear the accelerometer for additional days (to a maximum of 14 days) to ensure that minimal data requirements are met.

Classroom observation of child screen-time will be measured with the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) method to quantify average minutes/day screen-time in childcare center. Screen time will be assessed using classroom observation at the childcare center (from the EPAO observation in Aim 1). Results are reflecting changes in screen-time.

Parent reports of child screen time to quantify minutes/day screen-time total. Parents will complete a survey adapted to provide information about the child's screen-time (separately for TV, computer, games console and smartphone) on weekdays and weekend days. For each item the parent will be asked to report the time the child spent using it for (a) a normal weekday and (b) a normal weekend day, with response options: none; 1 to 30 minutes; 31 minutes to 1 hour; 1 to 2 hours; 2 to 3 hours; 3 to 4 hours; 4 hours or more. The assessment of TV viewing using parental report has been shown to correlate moderately (r=0.60) with 10 days of TV diaries among young children.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations among sedentary behavior (by screen-time observation/self-report and accelerometry) and physical activity (by accelerometry). The mean and standard deviation for time sedentary behavior and physical activity are presented in the table below.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations among Test of Gross Motor Development, 3rd edition (TGMD-3), and subscales (Ball Skills and Locomotor Skills). The TGMD-3 is a process-oriented assessment designed to assess gross motor performance of young children age 3-10 years. The total score for each item is established by the summation of all performance criteria scores for both trials, which are accumulated to determine the total locomotor and ball skills subtest scores and the overall TGMD-3 raw score for gross motor performance The maximum score a participant can obtain on locomotor is 46, for ball skills its 54, and overall gross motor performance is 100. The minimum score a child can receive is 0. Higher scores indicate better performance. Lower scores help identify delays and deficits in gross motor development in early childhood.