Physical activity (PA) is important for children’s growth and development and for their current and future health. Schools, especially during physical education (PE), are important locations for children to accrue PA. The purpose of this study was to assess the PA levels of preschool children during structured PE lessons and to evaluate the impact of selected characteristics (e.g., lesson context, length, and location; teacher behavior; class size; activity area density). Trained observers used SOFIT (System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time) to assess 90 structured PE lessons taught by 25 different teachers. Intact classes (n = 5 to 6 and representing 3 different grade levels) in 4 selected preschools were observed on 4 days over a 4-week period. Overall, children engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) 49.9% (SD = 15.7) of lesson time and there were differences in MVPA% among the four preschools, by lesson context, and by teacher behavior. There were no significant differences in MVPA% either between indoor (n = 69) and outdoor (n = 21) lessons or among the 3 grade levels. Even though the lessons approached the 50% MVPA guideline, the brevity of them left children far short of recommended daily amounts of PA. Future studies should investigate how preschools can increase on-campus opportunities for PA both during PE and throughout the school days. Copyright © 2015 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Physical activity (PA) is important for young children in achieving positive health outcomes and there is growing evidence suggesting that PA and fitness play an important role in children’s brain development and academic performance. Studies of preschool children typically show that few meet recommended daily PA levels. Meanwhile many preschoolers worldwide attend preschools, but little is known about their on-campus PA or the factors that influence it, especially during classroom sessions. The purpose of this study was to use a validated instrument to conduct a micro-analysis of student PA levels, lesson contexts, and teacher prompts for PA during classroom sessions. We assessed these factors during 165 classroom sessions taught by 25 teachers in four preschools. The sessions occurred prior to (PRE-PE) or following the PE lessons (POST-PE) that we described in an earlier paper (Chow et al., 2015) . Children spent classroom time primarily sitting (76%) and standing (13%), while engaging in PA (mostly of low or moderate intensity) 11% of the time. PA occurred mostly during lesson transitions and music time. Overall, boys were more active than girls (MVPA% = 12.1 vs. 8.8), and teachers rarely promoted either in-class or out-of class student PA. The study contributes to the limited literature on PA and its related contexts in preschools. The results have implications for providing pre-service and in-service teacher education related to the importance of PA and how to implement it. Expanded surveillance studies are recommended. In addition to using questionnaires and accelerometers or pedometers to assess PA, the studies should include observation methods so that important on-site and potentially modifiable contexts can be assessed directly. Copyright © 2015 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Background: Healthy movement behaviors in early childhood are believed to track to adulthood, potentially imparting protective benefits against non-communicable diseases. Highlighting the collaborative and complementary roles of parents and educators in promoting health of young children, this study aims to enable parents and teachers to successfully promote healthy movement behaviors in young children. Guidelines for physical activity, sedentary screen time, and sleep of children aged 2 to 6 years will be systematically disseminated to parents and teachers of children enrolled in early childhood education centers (ECECs) in Hong Kong. An evaluation will be conducted to assess the implementation process and the outcomes of the dissemination of said guidelines. Methods: The evaluation will include formative and summative components to examine the implementation (i.e., process evaluation) and the outcomes (i.e., outcome evaluation). Participants include teachers, parents, and children from ECECs in Hong Kong. The process evaluation will be guided by the RE-AIM framework (i.e., reach, efficacy, adaptation, implementation, maintenance). Data gathering and analysis will take a mixed-methods triangulation design - convergence model. The outcome evaluation consists of a non-randomized observational study, using quantitative data from questionnaires and accelerometers. The primary outcome to be measured is the extent to which children meet the guidelines for physical activity, sedentary screen time, and sleep; the secondary outcome is teachers’ and parents’ knowledge and awareness of the guidelines. Discussion: Young children who engage in healthy movement behaviors are likely to become adults who will have the disposition to engage in behaviors that have protective effects against non-communicable diseases. The findings of this evaluation are expected to contribute to improving the strategies of systems and government agencies that aspire to promote healthy movement behaviors

School-based physical activity (PA), including activity during physical education (PE) lessons and after-school hours, is a possible opportunity for increasing children' s daily PA. The purposes of this study were (a) to compare children' s school-based PA levels during PE lessons and after-school hours and (b) to examine whether there is a difference in children' s PA behaviour (moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)) and sedentary behaviour on a day which includes school-based PA (i.e. PE class or after-school sports class). The participants were 242 children (mean age = 8.7, SD = 1.6) from five primary schools in Hong Kong. Children' s PA levels were measured using an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X) for four school days, and the data were used to derive the duration (min) of MVPA and sedentary behaviour using age-specific criteria. The PA data were grouped according to the school-based PA opportunities, i.e. (a) with a PE lesson (PE day); (b) with an after-school sport class (AFS day); or (c) without school-based PA (N-Act day). The results indicated that the groups differed significantly in daily MVPA [F (2,108) = 16.62, p < .00] and MVPA during school hours [F (2,108) = 36.22, p < .00]. There was no significant difference in children' s sedentary behaviour with school-based PA participation. The present study confirmed the contribution of school-based PA opportunities to children' s MVPA in the school day, while sedentary behaviour may not necessarily be reduced.
[Copyright © 2017 The Author(s).]

Music movement activities have the potential to encourage young children to experience, explore, discover, and interact with the world, their peers and adults in creative ways. However, previous research has shown that some early childhood teachers in Hong Kong have difficulty in fostering children's creativity (Wong & Chu, 2001). This paper reports a study that further explored the understandings and practices of six teachers, and it draws these findings and professional literature to recommend practical strategies that foster creativity through music and movement activities.
[Copyright © 2002 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]

Objective: To examine the effect of depressive symptoms and satisfaction with family support (FS) on physical and mental Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). Methods: Data were obtained from the Hong Kong FAMILY Project baseline survey in 2009-2011, which included 16,039 community residents (age >= 20). The FS was measured using the Family Adaptation, Partnership, Growth, Affection, Resolve (APGAR, range 0-10) Questionnaire. HRQoL were assessed using the SF-12 version 2. Depressive symptoms were recorded using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Demographic and lifestyle variables, stressful life events, perceived neighborhood cohesion were also assessed. Results: In a multilevel regression model, socio-demographic and behavioral variables explained 21% and 19% of the variance in physical and mental HRQoL. The presence of depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 score >= 10, standardized coefficients, beta of -1.73) and high FS (APGAR score 7-10, 1.15) were associated with mental HRQoL, after adjustment for age, education, household monthly income, drinking status, physical activity, chronic conditions, life stress and neighborhood cohesion. Not FS but the presence of depressive symptoms (beta of -0.88) was associated with physical HRQoL. The presence of depressive symptoms in women than men were more associated with a poorer physical HRQoL (p<0.01) while depressive symptoms in men were associated with a decrease in mental HRQoL (p<0.001). The interaction between FS and depressive symptoms was nonsignificant in relation to HRQoL. Among those with depressive symptoms, high FS was associated with a better mental HRQoL (41.1 vs. 37.9, p<0.001) in women but not contribute to variance in men. Conclusions: Higher FS and presence of depressive symptoms were significantly associated with HRQoL in general population in Hong Kong. Among those with depressive symptoms, high FS was associated with a favorable mental HRQoL in women but not men.
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