Energy Cost of FreePlay Physical Activity in Children

1
Energy Cost of Free-Play Physical Activity in
Children
Cheryl A. Howe1, Kristen Benya1, Patty S.
Freedson1 (FASCM), Henry A. Feldman2, Stavroula
Osganian2 1Department of Kinesiology, University
of Massachusetts 2Boston Childrens Hospital,
Harvard Medical School
2
Background

• It has been suggested that excessive weight gain
  in children is related to a chronic positive
  energy imbalance of 100 kcal.day-1
• PA requirements for correcting the 100 kcal.day-1
  energy imbalance is unknown.

Hill et al. 2003 Wang et al., 2006
3
Childrens Free-Play PA

• Free-Play PA levels during Recess
• Highly transitory, explosive bursts
• Vigorous PA lt 15 seconds
• 31 59 of time spent in MVPA
• Boys ? Girls
• Overweight lt Normal weight children
• Children do not acquire enough MVPA during
  free-play PA
• 30-min structured recess program
• ?
• 100 kcal.day-1 EE

?
Bailey et al., 1995 McKenzie et al., 1997 Mota
et al., 2005
4
Purpose

• To identify enjoyable childrens games that will
  elicit a PAEE of 100 kcal in 30 minutes.

5
Selection of Childrens Games

• Game Selection
• Based on safety, activity level and feasibility
• CATCH PE program
• MCG Exercise Project
• Focus Group
• 9 Physical Education Teachers
• Activity rating scheme
• Enjoyment level in 3rd grade
• Activity level / participation level
• Safety concerns / feasibility
• Age-appropriateness for 3rd grade children

6
Approved List of Childrens Games
Barker's Hoopla Blob Relay Builders
Bulldozers Can't Touch This Capture the Flag
Cardio Course Castles Clean Your Room
Computer Virus Couple Tag Crazy Soccer
Crows Cranes Domino Relay Dragon's Tail
Dribblers Shooters Eagles Sparrows
Fitness Tag Fox Hound Great Escape
Hibernation Hot Spot I'm a new Skunk Mini
Kickball Monkey in the Middle Pass the Hat
Pirate's Treasure Race Day Shark's Minnows
Steal the Bacon Stop Go
7
Study Protocol

• Subject Recruitment
• 3rd grade children (8 9 yrs)
• Normal Weight (lt85th ile)
• At risk for overweight or overweight (85th ile)
• Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
• Supine rest for 10 minutes following 3-hour fast
• Oxygen uptake measured at steady state
• MedGem Metabolic analyzer

8
Measurement of Energy Expenditure

• Physical Activity Energy Expenditure (PAEE)
• Random selection of 10 games
• 6 min of activity with 3 min rest
• Oxycon Mobile indirect calorimeter
• PAEE Total EE RMR

9
Measurement of Enjoyment

• Enjoyment of the Activities
• Facial Affective Scale (FAS)
• How did you feel about playing this game today?
• How would you feel about playing this game with
  your friends at recess?

10
Statistical Analysis

• Two-way ANOVA (alpha level set at p lt 0.05)
• Gender
• BMI
• Qualifying Childrens Games
• lower boundary of the 95 confidence interval
• PAEE 3.3 kcal.min-1
• FAS 5

11
Subject Characteristics
12
Results
13
Physical Activity Enjoyment
FAS 5
14
Physical Activity Energy Expenditure
PAEE 3.3 kcal.min-1
15
Conclusion
22 Qualifying Games
Barker's Hoopla Blob Relay Builders
Bulldozers Can't Touch This Capture the Flag
Cardio Course Castles Clean Your Room
Computer Virus Couple Tag Crazy Soccer
Crows Cranes Domino Relay Dragon's Tail
Dribblers Shooters Eagles Sparrows
Fitness Tag Fox Hound Great Escape
Hibernation Hot Spot I'm a new Skunk Mini
Kickball Monkey in the Middle Pass the Hat
Pirate's Treasure Race Day Shark's Minnows
Steal the Bacon Stop Go
16
Future Directions

• The current study was a laboratory-based
  assessment
• Will these games elicit 100 kcal in 30 minutes of
  school recess?
• Will implementing these games into a structured
  recess program impact the rate of weight gain in
  children?

17
Acknowledgements
Kinesiology Faculty Patty Freedson, Ph.D. Sofiya
Alhassan, Ph.D. Boston Childrens
Hospital Stavroula Osganian, M.D., Sc.D. Henry
A. Feldman, Ph.D. Exercise Physiology Lab Todd
Hagobian, Ph.D. Kate Lyden, M.S. Rebecca
Hasson, M.S. Sarah Kozey, M.S. Bryce Jones,
M.S. Jeffer Sasaki, M.S. TaShauna Goldsby,
B.S. Adam Carreiro, B.S. PE Specialists
Judy Berger, B.S. Undergraduates
Kristen Benya Dalila De Jesus Christie
Gonzalez Jason Villa Ron Kielb Farah
Khan Natalia Petruski Nina Cecchini Funding
Source Boston Childrens
Hospital Children and Parents
18
Secret Slides
19
Energy Imbalance of Adult Obesity

• Environmental Factors
• Overconsumption of energy
• Reduction in energy expenditure
• Energy Gap
• 4.0 4.4 kg/year
• 50 efficiency of energy storage
• 100 kcal/day excess

Hill et al., 2003
20
Energy Imbalance of Childhood Obesity
2 7 y
12 17 y
Wang et al., 2006
21
Energy Imbalance of Childhood Obesity
Early intervention can reduce the energy
imbalance of childhood obesity with small
changes in physical activity.

• Wang et al. (2006) 14 kcal/day 247 kcal/day
  over ten years of growth
• Hill et al. (2003) 100 kcal/day

22
Methods of Measuring Childrens PA

• Doubly-Labeled water
• Physical Activity EE (PAEE) Total EE Resting
  EE
• Costly and limited to TEE
• Direct observation or Questionnaires to quantify
  PA
• Heart Rate
• Influenced by non-exercise related variables
• Influenced by the fitness level of the child
• Delayed response to quick changes in PA
• Whole Room Calorimeter
• Restricts movement within a small confined space
• Direct observation to accurately relate EE with
  PA

18O 2H
Goran et al., 1998
Eston et al. 1998 Ott et al., 2000
Treuth et al. 1998 Puyau et al., 2002
23
Methods of Measuring Childrens PA

• Accelerometers
• Capable of assessing frequency, intensity,
  duration of PA
• Over- or underestimate PAEE by 15 - 40
• Do not account for carrying a load, throwing or
  catching, uphill transport,
  etc.
• Indirect Calorimeters
• Portable, lightweight and unrestrictive
• Real-time sampling of VO2 VCO2 ? PAEE
• Used as criterion for validating other methods
• No data on real-life free-play in children

Welk et al., 2000 Eklund et al. 2001 McMurray
et al. 2004
Harrell et al. 2005 Goran 1998 Pate et al.
2006 Trost et al. 2006