Hands-On Gardening in Childcare Centers to Advance Preschool-Age Children's Fruit and Vegetable Liking in Semi-Arid Climate Zone.

Hands-on gardening is linked with healthy eating behaviors, increased outdoor activities, and overall well-being, all contributing factors to preventing obesity. Although these positive associations are widely established for adults and school-aged children, little evidence can be found on how such relationships may extend to early childhood, especially in the preschool years (3-5 years). One recent study conducted in North Carolina (NC) showed that participating in hands-on gardening significantly increased preschoolers' accurate identification of fruits and vegetables (FV) and FV consumption compared to children who did not participate in hands-on gardening, but no association was found between participation in hands-on gardening and the children's liking (eating preferences) of FV.

Effects of Childcare Hands-On Gardening on Preschoolers' (3-5 Years) Physical Activity in Semi-Arid Climate Zone.

How hands-on gardening impacts behaviors including healthy eating and physical activity during early childhood can be of critical importance for preventing the early onset of obesity. This study investigates how participating in hands-on gardening impacts preschoolers' (3-5 years old) physical activity (measured by accelerometers) in childcare centers in the semi-arid climate zone. The research was conducted in eight licensed childcare centers located in West Texas with 149 children ( = 149).

Gardening in Childcare Centers: A Randomized Controlled Trial Examining the Effects of a Garden Intervention on Physical Activity among Children Aged 3-5 Years in North Carolina.

This study examined the effects of a childcare gardening intervention on children's physical activity (PA). Eligible childcare centers were randomly assigned to: (1) garden intervention ( = 5; year 1); (2) waitlist control ( = 5; control year 1, intervention year 2); or (3) control ( = 5; year 2 only) groups. Across the two-year study, PA was measured for 3 days at four data collection periods using Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers.

Hands-on childcare garden intervention: A randomized controlled trial to assess effects on fruit and vegetable identification, liking, and consumption among children aged 3-5 years in North Carolina.

Gardening at childcare centers may have a potent influence on young children's learning about fruits and vegetables and their development of healthy dietary behaviors. This randomized controlled trial examined the effect of a garden intervention on fruit and vegetable (FV) identification, FV liking, and FV consumption among 3-5-year-old children enrolled in childcare centers in Wake County, North Carolina, USA. Eligible childcare centers (serving primarily low-income families) were randomly selected and then randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) intervention; (2) waitlist-control that served as a control in year 1 and received the intervention in year 2; or (3) no-intervention control.

Research Design, Protocol, and Participant Characteristics of COLEAFS: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of a Childcare Garden Intervention.

Childcare garden interventions may be an effective strategy to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption and physical activity among young children. The objective of this paper is to describe the research design, protocol, outcome measures, and baseline characteristics of participants in the Childcare Outdoor Learning Environments as Active Food Systems ("COLEAFS") study, a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the effect of a garden intervention on outcomes related to diet and physical activity. Fifteen childcare centers in low-income areas were randomly assigned to intervention (to receive garden intervention in Year 1), waitlist control (to receive garden intervention in Year 2), and control group (no intervention).

Social and Environmental Factors Related to Boys' and Girls' Park-Based Physical Activity.

Introduction: Parks provide opportunities for physical activity for children. This study examined sex differences in correlates of park-based physical activity because differences may indicate that a standard environmental intervention to increase activity among children may not equally benefit boys and girls.

Methods: The System for Observation Play and Recreation in Communities was used to measure physical activity among 2,712 children and adolescents in 20 neighborhood parks in Durham, North Carolina, in 2007.

Childcare outdoor renovation as a built environment health promotion strategy: evaluating the preventing obesity by design intervention.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of Preventing Obesity by Design (POD), a childcare center outdoor renovation intervention.

Design: Pre-post intervention evaluation.

Setting: North Carolina licensed childcare centers (N = 27).

Accelerometer measured level of physical activity indoors and outdoors during preschool time in Sweden and the United States.

Background: It is important to understand the correlates of physical activity (PA) to influence policy and create environments that promote PA among preschool children. We compared preschoolers' PA in Swedish and in US settings and objectively examined differences boys' and girls' indoor and outdoor PA regarding different intensity levels and sedentary behavior.

Methods: Accelerometer determined PA in 50 children with mean age 52 months, (range 40-67) was recorded during preschool time for 5 consecutive weekdays at 4 sites.

Park-based physical activity among children and adolescents.

Background: Availability of parks is associated with higher levels of physical activity among children and adolescents. Few studies examine actual park use and park-based physical activity in these populations.

Purpose: This study examined associations among individual, park, and neighborhood environmental characteristics and children's and adolescent's park-based physical activity.

Adaptation of the System for Observing Physical Activity and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) to assess age groupings of children.

Background: To better measure physical activity (PA) in outdoor environments, McKenzie and colleagues developed the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC). However, previous SOPARC research has focused on adults, seniors, teens and children. One avenue for extending this work is to expand the child age group code to capture important nuances that can influence children's PA and their environments.

Behavior mapping: a method for linking preschool physical activity and outdoor design.

Unlabelled: The preschool that children attend has been shown to be a significant but variable predictor of physical activity of 3- to 5-yr-olds, whereas the time outdoors has been found to be a strong correlate of physical activity. Researchers speculate that variations in preschool physical activity may be attributed to variations in preschool policies and practices, including the form and content of outdoor physical environments. However, assessment methods linking them to physical activity are limited.