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Family and home influences on children's after-school and weekend physical activity

Alison M McMinn1, Simon J Griffin, Andrew P Jones

  • 11 Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, Cambridge, UK.

European Journal of Public Health
|November 23, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Family social support boosts children's physical activity (PA) on weekdays and weekends. However, rules and restrictions on PA are only significant for weekday activity, suggesting tailored timing for PA promotion strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Behavioral Science
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Family and home environments significantly influence children's physical activity (PA).
  • These influences may vary depending on the time of day and week.
  • Understanding these time-dependent factors is crucial for effective PA interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the time-dependent associations between family/home factors and children's PA.
  • To compare correlates of PA after school on weekdays versus during weekends.
  • To inform targeted PA promotion strategies based on temporal factors.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from 1608 children (9-10 years) in the SPEEDY study.
  • Objectively measured PA using Actigraph GT1M and collected data on 21 family/home variables.
  • Employed multi-level multiple linear regression to analyze associations with moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA).

Main Results:

  • Weekday after-school MVPA associated with parent education, neighborhood play access, travel restrictions, sedentary behavior rules, and family social support.
  • Weekend MVPA associated with number of siblings, family encouragement, and family social support.
  • Family social support positively correlated with MVPA in both time periods.

Conclusions:

  • Family social support is a consistent positive correlate of children's out-of-school PA.
  • Weekday PA is influenced by rules and restrictions, while weekend PA is more associated with family encouragement and social support.
  • PA promotion strategies should consider the time-specific nature of family and home influences.
Abstract

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