The purpose of the paper is to analyze a peer-reviewed journal article related to physical development in early childhood. The title of the article entails the level of physical activity that promotes the development among preschool children. Timmons, Naylor, and Pfeiffer came up with the article. The article appeared in the academic journal. The purpose of the article was to provide the relevant scientific evidence that could support the link between physical activity and psychosocial and biological development during early childhood (ages 2-5 years) (Timmons, Naylor & Pfeiffer, 2007).
The authors clearly introduced the issue of physical activity during childhood and the obesity epidemic in different nations. The introduction gives a synopsis of what is expected and detailed in the entire paper. The authors did this clearly in order to attract the attention of the audience. The paper demonstrates clear evidence of the increased concern on overweight and obesity issues among preschool children. The article also gives clarity to other factors that influence preschool children’s physical activity, such as family and socioeconomic status (Timmons et al., 2007).
The use of a non-conservative approach in the methodology seemed to be quite appropriate. This is because the topic under discussion had sparse literature, and the use of systematic review could have limited the number of studies used in the article. In addition, the use of different reviews in each health section helped the authors in addressing every issue with clarity (Timmons et al., 2007). The authors also employ different methods in both the physical health section and the psychosocial health section. The authors used a number of physical health outcomes in determining the way physical activity influences them. The methodology does not indicate on the tools used for collecting data (Timmons et al., 2007).
Community involvement is an important factor that could determine the effect of physical activity on childhood physical development. While there have been inconsistent results about the way physical activity interventions could differ between boys and girls, the authors of the article hold that it was difficult to determine the amount of physical activity required to maintain a healthy body mass in preschool children (Timmons et al., 2007). The article also argues that the amount of physical activity required in maintaining childhood development functions would differ. For instance, the amount of physical activity required to maintain a healthy bone mass would be lower than that necessary for healthy body mass (Timmons et al., 2007).
The conclusion of the article is in line with the discussion done in the paper. The authors keenly stuck to their discussions while presenting the conclusion. The authors gave clear recommendations on how physical activity affects physical development among preschool children. The article fails to come to a clear conclusion that tackles the purpose of the paper (Timmons et al., 2007).
Various studies are necessary to fill several gaps related to physical activity and preschool childhood development. The article fails to demonstrate the way in which physical activity affects psychosocial variables in the early years of childhood development. Particularly, more evidence is required to determine the nature and amount of physical activity necessary to benefit both physical and cognitive outcomes. The authors accept that they were unable to establish the amount of physical activity required to optimize the healthy growth and development of preschool children (Timmons et al., 2007).
Reference
Timmons, B. W., Naylor, P. J., & Pfeiffer, K. A. (2007). Physical Activity for Preschool Children – How Much and How? Academic Journal: Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism, 32, 122-134. Web.