PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND BODY COMPOSITION OF 5 TO 7 YEARS OLD CHILDREN

Current exercise prescription and physical activity guidelines recommend preschool children to perform at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous structured physical activity and at least 60 minutes of unstructured physical activity every day. The purpose of this study was to extend knowledge about the volume of physical activity in 5- to 7-year-old children in relation to their body composition. Also, we recorded the course of growth changes and physical activity levels in 6-year-old children in the previous half century. The sample consisted of 69 pre-school age children (5 - 7 years) attending selected kindergartens located in the area of Presov self-governing region. Of 69 children, 36 were girls and 33 were boys. The volume and intensity of physical activity performed by children during their stay in kindergartens was measured using heart rate monitoring sys- tem POLAR Team2 Pro. Body composition was assessed using direct segmental multi-frequency bioelectric impedance analysis (DSM-BIA) device ln Body Z30. Parameters of somatic development corresponding with the secular trend are disproportionate to children's physical activity, which is considered to be an irreplaceable factor underlying health of children. However, the physical activity levels of children are decreasing. The volume of physical activity does not meet the minimum standard recommended by NASPE (Prokopec et al. 1986) and average intensity of physical activity expressed by heart rate does not reach the medium intensity Zone.