ACTIVE BREAKS IN KINDERGARTEN

The World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) considers physical inactivity and its increasing sedentary behavior in many countries. In fact, sedentariness is rated as one of the biggest public health problems of the 21st century, especially for the health risks arising from overweight and obesity. To prevent the occurrence of such risks to the health of young people aged 5 to 17, the minimum amount of movement required recommended by the WHO is 60 minutes of physical activity, mainly aerobic, moderate to intense every day at least three days a week. Despite this, many young people do not respect these indications and the percentages of overweight children and adolescents have more than tripled in the last twenty years. We therefore need programmes and initiatives to promote health, and for that reason, schools play a decisive role. Active breaks, that is to say short periods of physical activity during breaks from school education, can be a useful tool to be integrated into the school curriculum. This work has demonstrated the effects of a program of active breaks on the perception of their motor skills and on the levels of enthusiasm and pleasure perceived by the pupils of the final year of kindergarten, whereas the enjoyment and self-efficacy measured during the experience of movement condition the motivation of children to develop physical and motor activity over the years.