Parental influence on physical activity in preschoolers

Introduction: Parents directly and indirectly impact physical activity (PA) behaviors of their child. This study examined parental attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of their child's PA habits and their own.

Methods: The Physical Activity in Preschool Children survey was administered to parents of 3-to-5-year olds (n=267) as part of a randomized intervention trial. Child height/weight was measured at school. Parental height/weight was self-reported. One-way ANOVAs and Spearman's rank correlation coefficients examined gender/ethnic differences and relationships between child BMI z-score and survey responses, respectively.

Results: The child's BMI z-score was positively correlated with parent's BMI in both girls and boys. In girls, correlations between child's BMI z-score and the adult male in household were found, including: influence of participating in PA with child; watching child being active, telling child PA is good for their health and adult male's enjoyment of health. Ethnic differences were also found. Hispanic parents were less likely than Caucasians to report that their child does enough PA, male adults encourage them to participate in PA, adult male telling child PA is good for health. Parents of Hispanic ethnicity reported their own PA levels as lower than parents of other ethnicity groups.

Conclusion: Future PA interventions for preschoolers should address the home environment, with consideration of culture, child's gender, and the influence of male caregivers/fathers.