THURSDAY, Oct. 10, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Outdoor play habits in early preschool years are associated with a lower risk for school-age obesity, according to a study published online Oct. 9 in Acta Paediatrica.

Takahiro Tsuge, from the Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Okayama University in Japan, and colleagues investigated the association between outdoor play habits during preschool and school-age obesity. The analysis included 42,812 children born in January and July 2001 with data on outdoor play habits at age 2.5 years and parent-reported height and weight at age 7 years (31,743 individuals). 

The researchers found that 91 percent of children had outdoor play habits at age 2.5 years. At age 7 years, 10 percent of children were classified as overweight or obese. There was a negative association between outdoor play habits and obesity (adjusted odds ratio, 0.85).

“This study demonstrated that outdoor play habits in early preschool years are associated with a reduced risk of obesity in school-aged children,” the authors write. “Parents and caregivers may consider encouraging their children to outdoor play habits at an early age to help prevent obesity later in life.”

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