title: Three year follow-up of an early childhood intervention: is movement skill sustained?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Movement skill competence (e.g. the ability to throw, run and kick) is a potentially important physical activity determinant. However, little is known about the long-term impact of interventions to improve movement skills in early childhood. This study aimed to determine whether intervention preschool children were still more skill proficient than controls three years after a 10 month movement skill focused intervention: 'Tooty Fruity Vegie in Preschools'.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children from 18 intervention and 13 control preschools in NSW, Australia were assessed at ages four (Time1), five (T2) and eight years (T3) for locomotor (run, gallop, hop, leap, horizontal jump, slide) and object control proficiency (strike, bounce, catch, kick, overhand throw, underhand roll) using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Multi-level object control and locomotor regression models were fitted with variables time, intervention (yes/no) and a time*intervention interaction. Both models added sex of child and retained if significant, in which case interactions of sex of child with other variables were modelled and retained. SPSS (Version 17.0) was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall follow-up rate was 29% (163/560). Of the 137 students used in the regression models, 53% were female (n = 73). Intervention girls maintained their object control skill advantage in comparison to controls at T3 (p = .002), but intervention boys did not (p = .591). At T3, there were no longer intervention/control differences in locomotor skill (p = .801).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Early childhood settings should implement movement skill interventions and more intensively target girls and object control skills.
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion Unit, Northern New South Wales Local Health District, Lismore, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Avigdor
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zask
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: Lyndon O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: Maxine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molyneux
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Jillian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salmon
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D009517:New South Wales; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors