Design and baseline characteristics of the Short bouTs of Exercise for Preschoolers (STEP) study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Most preschool centers provide two 30-min sessions of gross-motor/outdoor playtime per preschool day. Within this time frame, children accumulate most of their activity within the first 10 min. This paper describes the design and baseline participant characteristics of the Short bouTs of Exercise for Preschoolers (STEP) study. The STEP study is a cluster randomized controlled study designed to examine the effects of short bouts of structured physical activity (SBS-PA) implemented within the classroom setting as part of designated gross-motor playtime on during-school physical activity (PA) in preschoolers.

Methods/design

Ten preschool centers serving low-income families were randomized into SBS-PA versus unstructured PA (UPA). SBS-PA schools were asked to implemen

SUBMITTER: Alhassan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3418210 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature