Parental role in children's physical activity: a comparative study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of physical activity (PA) parenting in a sample of Italian and German children with a social ecological approach. Methods: A sample of 71 4th grade children of two primary schools in the North-east of Italy (n = 37) and two in the North-west of Germany (n = 34), and their two parents (n = 142) participated in the research. Participants wore a tri-axial accelerometer for 7 consecutive days, and completed a battery of questionnaires to assess self report PA levels, enjoyment during PA, importance of PA, parental support and perceived parental support, children self-efficacy and perceived environment accessibility and safety. Results/findings: ANOVA analysis showed significant differences between Italian and German children variables. Italian children scored higher on importance of sport while German children scored significantly higher on PA levels, perceived parental support, self-efficacy, equipment accessibility and perceived neighbourhood safety. Positive associations were found between children PA and children personal variables as enjoyment of PA, perceived parental support, self-efficacy in practising sport and their SES. Conclusions: Perceived parental support seemed to be a key element in increasing children PA level. These findings further sustain the notion that to increase childhood PA levels it may be necessary to promote PA among parents. Health promotion interventions should also reinforce the importance of environment accessibility and safety

Parental role in children's physical activity: a comparative study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of physical activity (PA) parenting in a sample of Italian and German children with a social ecological approach. Methods: A sample of 71 4th grade children of two primary schools in the North-east of Italy (n = 37) and two in the North-west of Germany (n = 34), and their two parents (n = 142) participated in the research. Participants wore a tri-axial accelerometer for 7 consecutive days, and completed a battery of questionnaires to assess self report PA levels, enjoyment during PA, importance of PA, parental support and perceived parental support, children self-efficacy and perceived environment accessibility and safety. Results/findings: ANOVA analysis showed significant differences between Italian and German children variables. Italian children scored higher on importance of sport while German children scored significantly higher on PA levels, perceived parental support, self-efficacy, equipment accessibility and perceived neighbourhood safety. Positive associations were found between children PA and children personal variables as enjoyment of PA, perceived parental support, self-efficacy in practising sport and their SES. Conclusions: Perceived parental support seemed to be a key element in increasing children PA level. These findings further sustain the notion that to increase childhood PA levels it may be necessary to promote PA among parents. Health promotion interventions should also reinforce the importance of environment accessibility and safety

A cluster-analytic approach towards multidimensional health-related behaviors in adolescents: the MoMo-Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although knowledge on single health-related behaviors and their association with health parameters is available, research on multiple health-related behaviors is needed to understand the interactions among these behaviors. The aims of the study were (a) to identify typical health-related behavior patterns in German adolescents focusing on physical activity, media use and dietary behavior; (b) to describe the socio-demographic correlates of the identified clusters and (c) to study their association with overweight.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Within the framework of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) and the “Motorik-Modul” (MoMo), 1,643 German adolescents (11–17 years) completed a questionnaire assessing the amount and type of weekly physical activity in sports clubs and during leisure time, weekly use of television, computer and console games and the frequency and amount of food consumption. From this data the three indices ‘physical activity’, ‘media use’ and ‘healthy nutrition’ were derived and included in a cluster analysis conducted with Ward’s Method and K-means analysis. Chi-square tests were performed to identify socio-demographic correlates of the clusters as well as their association with overweight.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Four stable clusters representing typical health-related behavior patterns were identified: Cluster 1 (16.2%)—high scores in physical activity index and average scores in media use index and healthy nutrition index; cluster 2 (34.6%)—high healthy nutrition score and below average scores in the other two indices; cluster 3 (18.4%)—low physical activity score, low healthy nutrition score and very high media use score; cluster 4 (30.5%)—below average scores on all three indices. Boys were overrepresented in the clusters 1 and 3, and the relative number of adolescents with low socio-economic status as well as overweight was significantly higher than average in cluster 3.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Meaningful and stable clusters of health-related behavior were identified. These results confirm findings of another youth study hence supporting the assumption that these clusters represent typical behavior patterns of adolescents. These results are particularly relevant for the characterization of target groups for primary prevention of lifestyle diseases.</p