Associations Between Characteristics of the Home and Physical Activity Behavior in Youth

Most children in developed countries fail to meet public health recommendations for physical activity. This study identified home, parent and family factors that are associated with physical activity in a large and diverse sample of U.S. children.

Field staff conducted structured interviews with child/parent dyads (n=5138, mean age (SD) =9.28 (2.65) years) sampled from 130 U.S. communities. Children and/or parents reported children's participation in moderate to vigorous physical activities. Home, parent, neighborhood and child factors that were hypothesized to be associated with child physical activity were assessed. The study involved secondary analysis of data collected in 2013-2015. Data were analyzed in 2023-2025 using classification and regression trees (CART) to identify home-based factors that were cross-sectionally associated with children's MVPA.

CART showed that children tended to be more physically active if they participated frequently in structured physical activity programs, rated themselves and their friends as physically active, and had parents who regularly provided transportation for them to be active.

Future interventions to increase children's physical activity should focus on promotion of children's participation in structured physical activity programs and parental provision of transportation of children to physical activity programs.