Activity Begins in Childhood (ABC) – inspiring healthy active behaviour in preschoolers: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

Activity Begins in Childhood (ABC) – inspiring healthy active behaviour in preschoolers: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

Trials, July 2014

25073797

Kristi B Adamo, Nick Barrowman, Patti Jean Naylor, Sanni Yaya, Alysha Harvey, Kimberly P Grattan, Gary S Goldfield

Today's children are more overweight than previous generations and physical inactivity is a contributing factor. Modelling and promoting positive behaviour in the early years is imperative for the development of lifelong health habits. The social and physical environments where children spend their time have a powerful influence on behaviour. Since the majority of preschool children spend time in care outside of the home, this provides an ideal setting to examine the ability of an intervention to enhance movement skills and modify physical activity behaviour. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the Activity Begins in Childhood (ABC) intervention delivered in licensed daycare settings alone or in combination with a parent-driven home physical activity-promotion component to increase preschoolers' overall physical activity levels and, specifically, the time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity.