THE IMPACT OF PHYSICAL-PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY ON INFANTS' GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Forty-seven infants four to 40 weeks of age in Dumaguete City, the Philippines, were given a cycling motion exercise of the upper and lower limbs for Jour five-minute periods a day, six days a week, for two months. They were measured, against a control group of 17 infants of the same age and sex. Pretest, mid test, and pastiest measurements were taken for weight gain, length gain, and development of motor, language, adaptive, and personal-social behaviors. Significant differences were found between the two groups of infants to substantiate the hypothesis that increases in growth and development of infants who receive physical care and emotional support plus planned physical-physiological activity in the form of passive cycling exercises would be greater than those of infants who receive only physical care and, emotional support.