Effects of Childcare Hands-On Gardening on Preschoolers’ (3–5 Years) Physical Activity in Semi-Arid Climate Zone

Muntazar Monsur (), Tristen Hefner, Jason Van Allen, Nazia Afrin Trina, S. Y. Andalib and Nilda Cosco
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Muntazar Monsur: Department of Landscape Architecture (DoLA), Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Tristen Hefner: Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Jason Van Allen: Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Nazia Afrin Trina: Department of Landscape Architecture (DoLA), Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
S. Y. Andalib: Department of Landscape Architecture (DoLA), Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Nilda Cosco: Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, College of Design, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: How hands-on gardening impacts behaviors including healthy eating and physical activity during early childhood can be of critical importance for preventing the early onset of obesity. This study investigates how participating in hands-on gardening impacts preschoolers’ (3–5 years old) physical activity (measured by accelerometers) in childcare centers in the semi-arid climate zone. The research was conducted in eight licensed childcare centers located in West Texas with 149 children ( n = 149). Four childcare centers in the experimental group received hands-on garden interventions; the other four in the control group did not. In both experimental (intervention) and control (non-intervention) centers, children wore Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers continuously for 5 days before and for 5 days after intervention (a total of 10 days). Results show that the duration of sedentary behavior of children in the experimental (intervention) group significantly decreased compared to children in the control (non-intervention) group. The finding suggests that the positive effects of childcare hands-on gardening on physical activity extend to semi-arid climate zones where gardening is challenging due to high temperatures and lack of annual rainfall. The research emphasizes the critical need to incorporate hands-on gardening in childcare centers as an obesity prevention strategy nationally in the US and beyond.

Keywords: gardening; childcare; physical activity; accelerometers; preschool-aged children; obesity; semi-arid climate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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