A multimethod approach to the measurement of childhood physical activity and its relationship to blood pressure and body weight.

This investigation examined the relationships among measures of childhood physical activity and their association with measures of weight and blood pressure in a sample (n = 222) of preschool children. A multimethod factored approach to the assessment of physical activity was used; this approach included direct observation, motion sensor evaluation, and several parental reports of the subjects' activity levels. Analysis of these data revealed three highly significant activity factors: general activity, hyperactivity, and direct-observation-competitiveness activity. When the association between physical activity factors and cardiovascular risk was explored, no consistent relationship was found between the various childhood physical activity factors and the cardiovascular risk factors of weight and blood pressure. Individual (nonfactored) physical activity measures also failed to correlate with children's physical activity. The results indicate that physical activity is not related to obesity and blood pressure in children. However, other interpretations (i.e., that the activity protocol was insufficiently accurate to detect subtle differences, or that children are not participating in enough physical activity to affect their cardiovascular health) are also possible.