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Best practice in mass reach physical activity campaigns includes a role for communities to support the initiative with sustained programs and shorter-term events. The purpose of this paper was to report on an outcome evaluation of ParticipACTION's 150 Play List, a population-level, year-long, national mass reach campaign that included community events. Participants (N = 1,185) were recruited in the last month of the program to complete a questionnaire measuring demographic information, leisure-time physical activity, campaign awareness, attitudes, intentions, and behavioral trialing. Data were also collected, measured using cell phone proximity, on the number of people who attended 150 Play List events, which ranged from large-scale (e.g. national sports events) to smaller community events. Approximately 43% of respondents were aware of the 150 Play List and 19.5% reported participating in some way (e.g. visiting the website). Almost half of the participants who were aware of the campaign reported increased sport or physical activity-related intentions. Among those who participated, 90.6% reported trying at least one physical activity or sport related behavior as a result of the 150 Play List, whereas only 27.5% (n = 75) of those who were aware but did not participate in the 150 Play List tried a behavior. Event attendance goals were mostly met or exceeded. The 150 Play List was valued by those aware of it and the campaign was related to interest in sport and physical activity in Canada. The community events had potential to augment campaign effects but adequate evaluation requires sufficient resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Establishing appropriate physical activity and sedentary behaviours during early childhood is important to ensure children accrue the many associated health benefits. While physical activity levels have been reported as low within early learning programs, little research has explored the physical activity and sedentary time of Canadian preschoolers classified as overweight within these facilities. The purpose of this study was to compare objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time among preschoolers classified as overweight and non-overweight in early learning programs. Methods: Direct assessment of physical activity and sedentary time of 216 preschool-aged children (2.5-5 years) was collected via Actical accelerometers during early learning hours for 5 consecutive days, while BMI percentile was calculated based on preschoolers' objectively measured height and weight. Three, 3-way analyses of variance were run to explore the influence of weight status, sex, and childcare environment on physical activity (i.e., MVPA, TPA) and sedentary time. Results: Non-overweight preschoolers engaged in 40.58 mins/hr, 2.48 mins/hr, and 19.38 mins/hr of sedentary time, MVPA, and TPA respectively, while overweight preschoolers engaged in 39.91 mins/hr, 3.00 mins/hr, and 20.14 mins/hr of sedentary time, MVPA, and TPA respectively. Results of three, 3-way ANOVAs suggest that rates of sedentary time, MVPA, and TPA did not significantly (p > .05) differ based on weight status, sex, and type of early learning facility. Discussion: This study is one of few that has examined differences in overweight and non-overweight preschoolers' sedentary time, and adds to the limited research exploring physical activity levels among overweight and non-overweight preschoolers during early learning hours. Surprisingly, overweight preschoolers engaged in more MVPA and TPA than their non-overweight counterparts, although these differences were not significant. Given the high rates of sedentary time reported, programming within early learning facilities is necessary to support preschoolers, regardless of weight status, to achieve increased physical activity levels and decreased sedentary time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical activity is integral to the health and development of young children. Many Canadian preschoolers are enrolled in some form of non-parental care, and thus underscores the need to support and promote physical activity among this young cohort within these environments. The main objective of the Supporting Physical Activity in the Childcare Environment (SPACE) study was to implement and evaluate an evidence-based physical activity intervention for preschoolers attending childcare. Specifically, this project aimed to improve the physical activity levels (and decrease sedentary time) among preschoolers enrolled in centre-based childcare. Methods: The SPACE intervention, a cluster randomized control trial, comprised of: 1. environmental modifications (i.e., addition of novel portable equipment), 2. staff training (i.e., benefits of physical activity and physical activity instruction), and 3. curriculum changes to the preschool classrooms (i.e., restructuring the frequency of outdoor playtime). This 8-week intervention was introduced in 11 randomly selected childcare centres, while 11 centres acted as a control group (and maintained a normal curriculum). Participants (2.5-4 years; n = 336) were fitted with Actical™ accelerometers (MiniMitter, Bend, OR; 15 s epoch) for 5 consecutive days during childcare hours to assess activity levels. Four repeated measures ANCOVAs were carried out for each intensity level [i.e., light physical activity (LPA), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), total physical activity (TPA), and sedentary time] to determine changes in activity pre/post intervention. Age and sex were entered as covariates. Results: Upon examining the interaction effect between time (i.e., pre and post) and condition (i.e., control and experimental), levels of LPA were not found to significantly change pre/post (p > .584); however, a statistically significant increase was reported for MVPA (p < .001) and TPA (p < .046), and a statistically significant decrease was noted for sedentary time (p < .046). Discussion: The findings of this work indicate that the SPACE study was effective at improving preschoolers' MVPA and TPA levels, and at limiting sedentary time in childcare. Follow-up measurements (6- and 12-months) will determine the effectiveness of the SPACE intervention in sustaining improved activity behaviours during childcare hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]