Chelsea Smaellie

Developmental Extension Book

Chapter 8
Physical Activity in Children
Larkin, M. (2002). Obesity prevention must start in childhood, says US heart
association. Lancet, 360(9326), 62.
Promoting diet and lifestyle changes in childhood can reduce the risk of
coronary heart disease in individual children and the population at large.(Larkin,
2002, p. 62)
Marilyn Larkin (2002), a writer for The Lancet, encourages parents and
pediatricians to start preventing obesity in children while they are young so that
heart disease will not be prevalent as they grow older. Many parents and physicians
think that just because a child can run around and play, that it means they are
healthy and not obese. Many times you cant tell if a child is susceptible to heart
disease, obesity, and diabetes just by looking at them. She tells parents to have
their young children examined for some warning signs of heart disease by taking
their blood pressure, monitoring cholesterol, and doing a smoking history for eight
years and older. She says that not only vaccinations and growth checkups needed,
but also heart health should be incorporated into the parents mindset. It is always
so important to stay up on heart health when the child is younger because then
heart disease and other things may be able to be prevented.
Haga, M. M. (2008). The relationship between physical fitness and motor
competence in children. Child: Care, Health & Development, 34(3), 329-334.

Physical fitness results from the degree and intensity of a childs physical
activity over time. In the same way, one can also argue that motor
competence is a consequence of the level of physical activity, e.g. the more
time spent practicing motor skills the more opportunity there is for improved
motor performance. The range of physical activity will give rise to both
development and maintenance of many aspects of fitness and provide the
opportunity for individuals to make both quantitative and qualitative changes
in motor development, i.e. learn new motor skills and make improvement in
previously learned motor skills. (Haga, 2008, p. 332)
M. Haga (2008), a faculty member in the Department of Physiotherapy at
Sr-Trndelag University College in Norway, has performed a study that shows a
correlation between physical fitness and motor competence in children. The sample
of the study was 67 children ages 9-10, who performed nine different tasks that

included jumping, throwing, and running. The tests were grouped into three
categories that had subcategories; (1) Manual dexterity (three subtests) (2) ball
skills (two subtests) and (3) static and dynamic balance (three subtests). Studies
show that childrens motor skill competence is required to do daily activities in the
childs life. Motor competence is the ability to complete activities that requires fine
motor skills, gross motor skills, and coordination. In this study it mentioned how low
motor competence can increase the probability of psychological difficulties. So the
writer mentions that psychological impairments may also affect the childs ability to
be motor competent. The conclusion of the study was that children need to be
physically active to improve their motor competence skills that affect their daily
health and well-being.
Childhood Nutrition
Cotugna, N., & Vickery, C. (2007). Educating Early Childhood Teachers About
Nutrition. Childhood Education, 83(4), 194-198.
Proper nutrition is critical for child growth and development, and it is
important that good eating habits be developed at a young age if they are to
be carried throughout a lifetime. Along with parents, educators of young
children are gatekeepers of child nutrition. Yet the area of nutrition is one that
continually changes. Therefore, keeping the staff who work with young
children abreast of the latest nutrition information is important. (Cotugna,
2007, p. 198)
In this article, Cotugna (2007), gives basic ideas of proper nutrition for
children as well as the background and results from a Head Start nutrition training
for professionals who work with young children. Young children are not born
knowing how to eat, when to eat, and what to eat, they need to be taught by the
adults in their lives. Young children have constant changes in their appetite which
results from changes in growth during pre-school years. Young children need good
sources of protein, sufficient amounts of vitamins like calcium and potassium, plenty
of fluids, and fruits and vegetables. In our culture many children have poor nutrition
because of either poverty or their poor eating habits from too much fast food. A
great way to monitor young childrens eating habits can be by having family meals.
It is shown that when children have regular family meals they are more likely to eat
healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables. The writer explains the need for
professionals that work with young children to be properly trained in areas of
nutrition.

Reed, D. B. (1996). Focus groups identify desirable features of nutrition

programs for low-income mothers of preschool children. American Dietetic
Association. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 96(5), 501-501.
This research adds to a growing body of literature that suggests that effective
nutrition education programs should include predisposing factors such as
specific nutrition topics and information on the stages of child development,
age-appropriate food-related activities, and family communication skills.
(Reed, 1996, para. 13)
Debra Reed (1996) explains the study of three group discussions of twenty
mothers who have pre-school aged children, about the desirable features that would
be needed in a nutrition program. It shows that parents have a critical role in
encouraging their children to learn proper eating habits. Early intervention
performed by parents to assist their children in proper eating habits is the key to
healthy children. The problem is that many working parents that come from lowcome families often do not attend traditional nutrition education courses. Before a
nutrition program is developed there should be an assessment of the needs of the
target populations like low-income families, single mothers, and parents with loweducation levels. This discussion showed results of what is really needed in a
nutrition program for it to be successful in helping many types of families. A
consistent barrier to healthy eating was the worry about a parents child who was a
picky eater. Many young children are picky eaters and parents cant seem to find
healthy food that their children would be willing to eat. The mothers were interested
in having training with how to read food labels and also healthy grocery lists.