[Source:  Medical Xpress.com]

Preschoolers in the Seattle study spent just a half hour playing outside and were offered less than an hour each day for indoor play at child care centers, the researchers found.
Guidelines recommend at least one hour of adult-led, structured physical activity and one hour of unstructured free play time per day, according to lead author Dr. Pooja Tandon, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle.
“Children need daily opportunities for physical activity not only for optimal weight status, but because physical activity promotes numerous aspects of health, development and well-being,” Tandon said. “Physical activity, which in this age occurs typically in the form of play, promotes cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and mental health and is associated with academic achievement.”
The findings were published online May 18 in the journal Pediatrics.
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