Short bouTs of Exercise for Preschool-age Children (STEP)

June 7, 2023 updated by: Sofiya Alhassan, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Effects of Short Bouts of Physical Activity in Low-income Preschool-age Children

The purpose of this study is to examine if short bouts of structured physical activity implemented within the classroom setting as part of designated gross-motor playtime will increase preschool-age children during-school physical activity level.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Most preschool centers provide two 30-minute sessions of gross-motor/outdoor playtime per preschool day. Within this time frame, children accumulate most of their activity within the first 10 minutes. This study is a cluster randomized controlled study designed to examine the effects of short bouts of structured physical activity implemented within the classroom setting as part of designated gross-motor playtime on during-school physical activity in preschoolers. Results from this intervention could provide evidence that a physical activity policy that exposes preschoolers to shorter bouts of structured physical activity throughout the preschool day could potentially increase preschooler's physical activity levels.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

323

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, 01103
        • Preschool centers in Springfield, MA

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

3 years to 5 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Attend one of 10 participating preschool centers
  • Attend preschool full-time
  • Children between 2.9 - 5 years of age on the date of baseline assessment

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Did not have a condition limiting their participation in routine gross-motor playtime at preschool
  • Unable to wear the activity monitor

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Short bouts of structured activity
Behavioral: Short bouts of structured physical activity
Short bouts of structured physical activity preschools will be asked to implement age-appropriate 10 minute structured physical activity routines within the classroom setting followed by 20 minutes of usual unstructured playtime activities. Intervention will be implemented for a total of 30 minutes during both morning and afternoon gross motor playtime 5 days/week for 6 months.
Other Names:
  • Instant Recess for preschoolers
Active Comparator: Unstructured physical activity
Behavioral: Unstructured physical activity
Unstructured physical activity intervention will consist of 30 minutes of supervised unstructured free playtime twice. intervention will be delivered during both morning and afternoon gross motor playtime for 5 days/week for 6 months.
Other Names:
  • Free playtime

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in Physical activity levels at 6-month
Time Frame: Baseline, 3-month and 6-month after study initiation
Physical activity levels will be assessed with accelerometer and direct observation system
Baseline, 3-month and 6-month after study initiation

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sofiya Alhassan, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

November 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 25, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 26, 2012

First Posted (Estimated)

May 1, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 8, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 7, 2023

Last Verified

June 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2010-0817

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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