The Association between Parents and Children Meeting Physical Activity Guidelines.
Sarah G H Dozier, Krista Schroeder, Jiwoo Lee and 2 others
PMID 32200320WHAT IT FOUND
For boys with elevated BMI, those whose parents met physical activity guidelines had 3.8 times greater odds of meeting guidelines themselves.
No such association appeared for girls or in the total sample. Parents’ own activity levels may matter more for sons.
Key findings
01Boys whose parents met physical activity guidelines had 3.8 times greater odds of meeting guidelines themselves (p = 0.04, 95% CI 1.28–13.41).
02No association was found between parents and children meeting physical activity guidelines for the total sample (OR = 1.43, p = 0.39) or for girls (OR = 0.65, p = 0.51).
0333% of children in the sample met physical activity guidelines, while 57% of their parents met adult guidelines.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was small (132 dyads) and not powered specifically for this secondary analysis or gender subgroups. Physical activity was measured by self-report, which is less accurate than objective measures like accelerometers. The cross-sectional design cannot prove that parent activity causes child activity. Most parents in the study were mothers, so findings may not reflect the influence of fathers. Participants were volunteers from one Midwestern metropolitan area, limiting generalizability.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that encouraging parents to exercise will automatically increase physical activity in all children. The association was significant only for boys, and the study was underpowered and cross-sectional, so it cannot establish causation or rule out other factors.