Is full-day kindergarten linked to children's physical activity?

Although there has been much research assessing the role of full-day kindergarten (FDK) versus part-day kindergarten (PDK) in relation to academic achievement, considerably less attention has been paid to whether FDK or PDK might be linked to children's physical activity. Applying fixed-effects models and propensity score matching to a nationally-representative dataset, we found that relative to children in FDK programs, children in FDK programs had lower BMI, had more outdoor play time, had longer physical education sessions, and had higher parental ratings of participation in rapid exercise. Children in FDK programs were also less likely to watch television during the week than children in PDK programs. There were no differences in television watching on the weekends, providing evidence that weekday activities were shifted by FDK versus PDK attendance. Policy implications are discussed.