Encouraging Physical Activity in Preschool: How important is Fun?

Introduction: Policies that promote physical activity (PA) act as important equalizers in the health disparities found among minority preschoolers. Interventions need to start at younger ages to instill PA as a fun and liked activity for kids. While PA among children has been found to be decreasing, time spent in front of a screen is increasing. Methods: We compared preschoolers reported ‘fun’ and ‘like’ between two exergames; a cycling game and a dancing game compared to traditional games/activities (TG) on average energy expenditure (AEE) using accelerometry. Results: Participants were 3-6 years old from two inner-city charter schools in the District of Columbia. In total, 299 children (149 boys, 150 girls) played each of the activities and were asked how much fun they had and how much they liked each using a FACES visual analogue scale with a 5 point Likert Scale (1=not at all to 5= a lot).  Overall means and standard deviations for levels of fun and like for each game modality showed that exergames to be more fun and liked than TG and further supported by paired t-test and independent sample t-test results. The study did not find significant increases in AEE and preschoolers engaged in the TG on average two minutes longer than the two exergaming activities. Discussion: Our results demonstrate that liking and fun are not necessarily predictive of energy expenditure among preschoolers. However, exergames offer teachers an outlet for PA in a safe and fun atmosphere and provide opportunities for PA within children's school day.