Associations between the movement environment and preschooler's physical activity and sedentary time in Norwegian preschools

The purpose of the study is to investigate the connection between the quality of the movement environment in Norwegian kindergartens and the children’s level of physical activity and sedentary time. The study also aims to assess how improvements in the physical and educational environment can promote more physical activity among children, both indoors and outdoors.

The results show that the quality of the movement environment in Norwegian kindergartens is generally low, and that there are positive correlations between higher environmental quality and increased physical activity at a low to moderate level. In addition, it was found that children were less sedentary in kindergartens that scored higher on the MOVERS assessments. The study concludes that improvements in kindergartens’ movement environments can promote more physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour among children.

The study used the MOVERS scale to assess the movement environment in 71 departments from 46 Norwegian kindergartens. Physical activity and sedentary time among 794 children aged 3-5 years were measured objectively with accelerometers over a period of seven days. The analysis was performed using multivariate pattern recognition.

Krogager Albertsen, H., Aadland, K. N., Johannessen, K., Jones, R., & Aadland, E. (2023). Associations between the movement environment and preschooler's physical activity and sedentary time in Norwegian preschools. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 31(4), 562–576.

Online year: 2022

Issue year: 2023

Review year: 2022