OTERO BILBAO, Anabel; RUIZ ALVAREZ, Vladimir    HERNANDEZ TRIANA, Manuel. Physical activity among Havana preschoolers. []. , 33, 2, pp. 186-203. ISSN 0864-0300.

Introduction: A sedentary lifestyle is one of the causal factors of obesity. Children should have at least 60 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity per day. Objective: Measure the physical activity of preschoolers. Method: The physical activity of 40 children with normal weight aged 4-6 years was measured in day care centers of Havana on two week days and one weekend day, using accelerometry with TriTrac-R3D sensors and heart rate monitoring with Polar heart rate meters. Daily records for 11-14 waking hours were estimated on a weekly basis and ranked by calibration for each child. Results: Urban preschoolers spent 70% of their waking time in sedentary activities. They were 1.2-2 times more sedentary than rural or small town children, and barely fulfilled one third of the recommended daily physical activity. No differences were found between boys and girls. Results coincided with previous studies on the subject and with studies about children from industrialized countries. Conclusion: Overweight among Cuban preschoolers is related to physical inactivity and requires the performance of social and health promotion actions in the community.

: physical activity; preschoolers; accelerometry; heart rate; sedentary lifestyle; obesity.

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