Objectively measured sedentary behavior in preschool children: comparison between Montessori and traditional preschools
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RESEARCH
Open Access
Objectively measured sedentary behavior in preschool children: comparison between Montessori and traditional preschools Wonwoo Byun1,2*, Steven N Blair1 and Russell R Pate1
Abstract Background: This study aimed to compare the levels of objectively-measured sedentary behavior in children attending Montessori preschools with those attending traditional preschools. Methods: The participants in this study were preschool children aged 4 years old who were enrolled in Montessori and traditional preschools. The preschool children wore ActiGraph accelerometers. Accelerometers were initialized using 15-second intervals and sedentary behavior was defined as 80% of the observations). It was also observed that preschooler’s sedentary behavior levels varied by school policies and characteristics [14,15]. However, those studies only included samples of children attending traditional preschools, and to the best of our knowledge no study has described the levels of objectively-measured sedentary behavior in children attending Montessori preschools, which have become popular in recent years [16,17]. The popularity of Montessori preschools likely reflects their unique approach in terms of children’s education. At least two-thirds of the preschool hours are devoted to opportunities for self-chosen/directed activities, [18] and children attending Montessori preschools are allowed to freely move about during the course of the day [19]. This likely provides more opportunities for ambulation compared to traditional preschools, [20] and may reduce the time spent in sedentary behavior. Therefore, we suspected that levels of sedentary behavior among children attending Montessori preschools might differ from those of children attending traditional preschools. The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of objectively-measured sedentary behavior in children attending Montessori preschools with those of children attending traditional preschools.
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analyses: in-school sedentary behavior (N=167 in traditional and N=164 in Montessori), after-school sedentary behavior (N=137 in traditional and N=135 in Montessori), and total-day sedentary behavior (N=137 in traditional and N=136 in Montessori). Written informed consent was obtained from children’s parents or guardians prior to collection of data. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of South Carolina. Accelerometer protocol
The preschool children wore ActiGraph accelerometers (ActiGraph model GT1M, Shalimar, FL). The accelerometers were initialized to collect data in 15-second intervals (epochs) to account for the spontaneous activity patterns of preschool children. The accelerometers were attached to the child’s right hip (anterior to the iliac crest) using an elastic belt. Each child was instructed to wear the accelerometer for five consecutive school days (Monday – Friday), and their parents received information about how to wear and remove the accelerometer during after-school hours. Trained staff checked each c
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