According to a new Seattle study, kids in daycare and preschool are probably not getting enough physical activity. It was found that preschoolers at child care centers spent just a half hour playing outside. They were offered less than an hour each day for indoor play.

Lead author Dr. Pooja Tandon, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle said that guidelines recommend at least one hour of adult-led, structured physical activity and one hour of unstructured free play time per day.

Tandon said, "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".

For the study, researchers observed nearly 100 preschool children from 10 different child care centers in the Seattle area. They categorized how much time was spent in active play, including indoor and outdoor play over four full days at each center.

Children were made to wear devices that measured their movement. They also noted whether the play was led by the teacher.

The researchers found that that children spent only 33 minutes a day playing outside and logged only about 48 minutes per day overall in active play. Also, the physical activity led by a teacher was less than 10 minutes.

Overall, children spent 73%, 13% and 14% of their time in sedentary activity, light activity and on moderate to vigorous physical activity respectively.

Tandon said that physical activity promotes cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and mental health and is associated with academic achievement. Also, teacher-led activities could also have other potential benefits, such as greater inclusion of all children, role modeling and integrating educational content into activities.

Dr. Danelle Fisher, vice chair of pediatrics at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California said that spending little time in playing sets early patterns for physical inactivity.

The findings were published online May 18 in the journal Pediatrics.