The Effects of Movement-based Interventions for Children

Abstract

Participation in physical activity (PA) has been linked to positive health and developmental outcomes particularly for children; however, global estimates of physical inactivity range from 67-80% of children. Physical inactivity is also related to increased rates of unhealthy weight, poor school readiness, and mental health concerns among children. Urgent prevention strategies are required to enhance the health and development of children. This thesis explored the use of three study designs to investigate the effects of various movement-based interventions on aspects of health and development in children. A quasi-experimental study was first conducted to test the effects of a movement- and pre-literacy program among 3- to 4-year-old children. This study found significantly positive improvements in movement skill and pre-literacy skills. Subsequently, a mixed method study was designed to expand the evaluation of the program. A randomized waitlist controlled trial with an embedded qualitative study revealed statistically significant intervention effects, while the qualitative data revealed that the program positively contributed to various aspects of children’s movement and pre-literacy abilities and overall confidence, and enhanced quality of at-home practice. The final study used a randomized controlled trial to test the acute effects of a bout of activity that varied in physical and cognitive demands on executive function. Key findings did not support the hypotheses that a cognitively engaging bout of PA enhances cognitive performance over non-cognitively engaging PA or sedentary activities, and this may have been due to overexertion during the activity and/or depletion of positive affect. Overall, the thesis findings demonstrated promise of a movement-based intervention for children, elucidated important design considerations of cognitively engaging physical activities, and suggested several new avenues of research. Moreover, the thesis has demonstrated the utility of using multiple designs and highlights the unique methodological considerations of conducting research with young children.