Objectively measured sedentary behavior in preschool children: comparison between Montessori and traditional preschools

Table 1 Descriptive characteristics of participants, Mean ± SD or percent

Characteristics	In-school Activity		After-school Activity		Total-day Activity
Characteristics	Montessori	Traditional	Montessori	Traditional	Montessori	Traditional
N	164	167	135	137	136	137
Age (years)	4.4 ± 0.5	4.5 ± 0.4	4.4 ± 0.6	4.5 ± 0.3	4.4 ± 0.6	4.5 ± 0.3
Gender (%)
Boys	49.4	52.6	48.9	53.2	49.0	53.2
Girls	50.6	47.4	51.1	46.8	51.0	46.8
Race (%)^*
African American	23.2	43.1	25.2	43.1	25.0	43.1
White	66.4	37.1	65.9	37.2	66.2	37.2
Other	10.4	19.8	8.9	19.7	8.8	19.7
Preschool setting (%)^*
Private^†	64.6	34.7	61.5	42.6	61.5	42.6
Public^†	35.4	65.3	38.5	57.4	38.5	57.4
BMI (kg/m²)^*	15.9 ± 1.7	16.3 ± 2.0	15.9 ± 1.8	16.2 ± 1.9	15.9 ± 1.8	16.2 ± 1.9
Wear Time^‡
Number of Days	4.8 ± 0.6	4.6 ± 0.6	3.7 ± 0.5	3.7 ± 0.6	3.7 ± 0.5	3.7 ± 0.6
Hours per Day	5.8 ± 1.2	5.9 ± 1.1	6.4 ± 1.4	6.5 ± 1.5	12.2 ± 1.1	12.4 ± 1.3

*Significantly different between traditional and Montessori preschools (P <.05).
†Percentage of preschool children attending private or public preschools.
‡Number of days and number of hours that children wore accelerometers.

ISSN: 1479-5868