The Relationship Between Maternal and Obese Children's Daily Physical Activity

This study examined the effects of maternal influence on child's daily physical activity. Participants consisted of eight families; parents (n = 9) and obese children (n = 10). Families were asked to attend exercise sessions at a university laboratory for 10 weeks. Daily physical activity was measured with a MovBand 3 which is a wrist worn accelerometer that records physical activity as moves. Linear mixed-effects models were used to predict daily physical activity over time and child physical activity as a function of parent physical activity on a day-to-day basis. Physical activity for all participants did not change significantly (p > .05) over the course of the intervention, however, there was a significant (p = .001) relationship between maternal and child physical activity showing for every step a mother took their child took 1.2 steps. On average, mothers achieved 2825.18 ± 1282.77 fewer moves than their children on a daily basis. Encouraging parents to engage in physical activity with their children may have a positive impact on their obese child's daily physical activity involvement.