Table 1.
Descriptive statistics of study participants at 6.6 years (final year of kindergarten) and at 7.6 years (1st grade at school).
| Kindergarten | School | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Quartile (n = 24) |
Upper Quartile (n = 24) |
Lower Quartile (n = 27) |
Upper Quartile (n = 28) |
|
| Variable | ||||
| Age (yr) | 6.57 ± 0.6 | 6.48 ± 0.51 | 7.67 ± 0.48 * | 7.48 ± 0.5 * |
| Height (cm) | 124 ± 6.15 | 127 ± 6.4 | 131 ± 6.9 * | 134 ± 6.4 * |
| Weight (kg) | 24.8 ± 5.1 | 26.24 ± 4.55 | 28.3 ± 6.75 * | 29.9 ± 5.8 * |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 16.0 ± 2.33 | 16.22 ± 1.66 | 16.3 ± 2.95 | 16.6 ± 2.11 |
| Overweight (%) | 25% | 20.8% | 11.1% | 10.7% |
| Participating in organized sport (%) | 62.5% | 95.8% # | 63% | 75% |
| SB and PA | ||||
| AWT (min/day) | 803 ± 143 | 805 ± 82 | 862 ± 107 * | 837 ± 94 |
| SB (min/day) | 460 ± 141 | 381 ± 72.6 # | 506 ± 103 * | 425 ± 80 *# |
| Light PA (min/day) | 298 ± 55 | 325 ± 28 # | 296 ± 42 | 320 ± 39 # |
| Moderate PA (min/day) | 33.3 ± 4.9 | 64 ± 12 # | 41 ± 11.4 * | 61 ± 15.1 # |
| Vigorous PA (min/day) | 11.1 ± 3.8 | 34 ± 11.5 # | 17.76 ±10.87 * | 34 ± 15.5 # |
| MVPA (min/day) | 44.3 ± 6.8 | 99 ± 19 # | 59 ± 20.4 * | 95 ± 28.5 # |
| PF tests | ||||
| 20 m shuttle run (laps) | 17.1 ± 9.47 | 20.0 ± 11.5 | 20 ± 13.7 | 25.6 ± 15.1 |
| Grip strength (kg) | 10.3 ± 1.93 | 11.5 ± 2.4 | 12.9 ± 2.41 * | 13.7 ± 2.6 *# |
| Grip-to-BMI ratio | 0.65 ± 0.14 | 0.71 ± 0.15 | 0.8 ± 0.16 * | 0.83 ± 1.14 * |
| Grip-to-FFM ratio | 0.54 ± 0.08 | 0.55 ± 0.08 | 0.58 ± 0.79 * | 0.55 ± 0.06 |
| SLJ (cm) | 114 ± 18.9 | 129 ± 16.4 # | 124 ± 23.5 * | 139.1 ± 19.6 *# |
| SLJ-to-BMI ratio | 7.16 ± 1.71 | 8.2 ± 1.27 # | 7.91 ± 2.32 * | 8.6 ± 1.66 * |
| SLJ-to-FFM ratio | 5.96 ± 1.31 | 6.43 ± 1.07 | 5.6 ± 1.5 * | 5.81 ± 1.09 * |
| 4 × 10 m shuttle run (s) a | 15.6 ± 1.6 | 14.9 ± 1.11 | 15.02 ± 1.53 | 14.5 ± 0.98 |
| One-leg stance (balance) (s) | 21 ± 9.87 | 22.1 ± 8.6 | 12.5 ± 9.4 * | 13.1 ± 9.04 * |
| Modified Boehm-3 test | ||||
| Progressive matrix (max score 10) | 6.26 ± 2.68 | 6.60 ± 2.57 | 7.70 ± 2.16 * | 7.83 ± 1.9 * |
| Conceptual skills (max score 17) | 13.3 ± 2.72 | 13.8 ± 1.9 | 14.9 ± 1.41 * | 14.6 ± 1.7 * |
| Verbal abilities (max score 9) | 5.58 ± 1.40 | 5.63 ± 1.54 | 6.5 ± 1.1 * | 6.8 ± 1.2 * |
Data are given as mean ± SD. BMI: body mass index; FFM: fat-free mass; SB: sedentary behavior; PA: physical activity; AWT: total awake wear time; MVPA: moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; TPA: total physical activity; PF: physical fitness; SLJ: lower-limbs muscular strength. a The lower the score (in s), the higher the performance. * p < 0.05 lower quartile in kindergarten vs. lower quartile at school; higher quartile in kindergarten vs. higher quartile at school. # p < 0.05 lower quartile in kindergarten vs. higher quartile in kindergarten; lower quartile at school vs. upper quartile at school.