A study on the promotion and motivation of physical activity in young children

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The purpose of this research was to investigate on the promotion of physical activity in young children, as well as the motivation to continue its practice. This study was divided in four parts as follows.In Part 1, we investigated the relation between motor ability and the amount of physical activity in young children.In Part 2, we proposed a scale for the evaluation of physical activity in young children. We divided the concept of physical activity into four factors as follows : Fl : Playing, F2 : Leadership, F3 : Challenge, F4 : Socialization. The evaluation scale proposed in this work can be used to verify the effectiveness of a program to increase the physical activity in young children, as well as, to help understanding what causes a child to be low active.In Part 3, we investigated the purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a behavioral change intervention to promote physical activity in young children. This intervention was based on the theory and techniques of behavioral science. The intervention program was developed involving active participation from three different directions, the environment, kindergarten teachers, and parents. The results showed that the children's daily number of steps increased after the intervention. Also, the intervention showed to be particularly effective in a group of low active girls.In Part 4, we proposed and applied a new body expression program. During its application we examined the interaction of children's heart and body. The results indicated that our program effectively motivates children to continue doing physical activity.