Preschoolers Build Fundamental Motor Skills Critical to an Active Lifestyle: The Intervention Study.

This pragmatic, real world study examined the effects of the intervention on preschoolers' mastery of movement skills and determined whether the instruction had greater impact than natural development. Methods included a quasi-experimental intervention-comparison subsample of 379 children (COMPARISON) and a pretest-posttest design with convenience scale-up sampling of 2817 preschoolers (SCALE-UP). Children receiving education and dance instruction 3 times/week for 8 weeks were assessed using the Preschool Movement Assessment to evaluate skills pre and post intervention.

Preschoolers can distinguish between healthy and unhealthy foods: the all 4 kids study.

Objective: To determine changes in preschoolers' ability to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy foods and stated food preferences after participation in a nutrition education program.

Design: Pre-post comparison/intervention study with sites clustered based on center size and language.

Setting: Preschool classrooms.