A new kind of play equipment has been developed to help remedy the sluggish growth of the upper limbs and sluggish body functions of today's children. However, the effects of various types of play equipment on the body functions are not fully examined. This report describes an examination of the degree of exercise load on the upper and lower limbs estimated based on the muscle activity, occurring when children utilize climbing-type play equipment. As the types of climbing-type play equipment used in this study, a jungle gym, a horizontal bar and a type of play equipment combining various climbing patterns were selected. Prior to this study, a simple portable electromyography system was developed, which was able to make electromyographic measurements for several subjects simultaneously and inexpensively. The result of the verification of this system showed that the quantitative evaluation of muscle activity was sufficiently precise. And by the quantitative estimation of muscle activity, it was confirmed that climbing-type play equipment put a high exercise load on the upper limbs. In using the combined play equipment, moreover, it was suggested that the activity per unit of time was higher. Accordingly, it is expected that climbing-type play equipment, in particular the combined play equipment, can be highly effective in improving the upper limb function of today's children.

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