Effectiveness of a Preschool Motor Skill Intervention on Body Mass Index and Movement Behavior: 6-, 18-, and 30-Month Findings From a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: To study the effectiveness of a preschool staff-delivered motor skills intervention on body composition and physical activity over a 2.5-year time frame.

Methods: In this pragmatic parallel cluster randomized controlled trial (16 preschools), outcome data were collected after 6 (body composition only), 18, and 30 months of intervention. The main physical activity outcomes were accelerometer behavior measures summarizing the total percentage of child daily movement (walk, run, cycle, and standing that included minor movements) and preschool movement during preschool attendance. To estimate between-group mean differences in outcomes, mixed-linear regression analyses including baseline value of the selected outcome and a treatment × time interaction term as a fixed effect were applied. In addition, the baseline preschool and child were included as a random effect.

Results: For body mass index, a total of 437 children (90%) had at least one valid baseline and one follow-up assessment. The corresponding numbers for preschool movement and daily movement were 163 (55%) and 146 (49%), respectively. No significant between-group mean difference was identified for body mass index, waist-to-height ratio, or any physical activity outcomes.

Conclusion: Overall, this preschool motor skills intervention had no effect on either child anthropometry or physical activity, consistent with previous studies.