Parental Education and Pre-School Children’s Objectively Measured Sedentary Time: The Role of Co-Participation in Physical Activity

Suvi Määttä, Carola Ray, Henna Vepsäläinen, Elviira Lehto, Riikka Kaukonen, Anna Ylönen and Eva Roos
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Suvi Määttä: Samfundet Folkhälsan, Folkhälsan research Center, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
Carola Ray: Samfundet Folkhälsan, Folkhälsan research Center, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
Henna Vepsäläinen: Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki,00014 Helsinki, Finland
Elviira Lehto: Samfundet Folkhälsan, Folkhälsan research Center, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
Riikka Kaukonen: Samfundet Folkhälsan, Folkhälsan research Center, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
Anna Ylönen: Samfundet Folkhälsan, Folkhälsan research Center, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
Eva Roos: Samfundet Folkhälsan, Folkhälsan research Center, 00250 Helsinki, Finland

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-14

Abstract: Parental co-participation in physical activity (PA) may be a beneficial parenting practice for diminishing children’s sedentary time (ST). Less information is available, however, on the explanatory role of co-participation in PA regarding parental educational differences in children's ST. Preschool-aged children (N = 864, mean age 4.8, 52% boys) with their parents participated in a cross-sectional DAGIS (Increased Health and Wellbeing in Pre-schools) study between years 2015 and 2016. Children (N = 821) wore an accelerometer for one week. Parents were informed of their educational background, and the frequency of visits with their child in nature, to parks or playgrounds, their own yard, and indoor sport facilities (N = 808). Testing the associations required multiple regression analyses. Parents with a low educational background reported more frequent visits with their child to their own yard, and these visits were associated with children’s lower ST. More highly educated parents co-visited indoor sport facilities more frequently, although this did not have a significant association with children’s ST. More frequent visits in nature were associated with a lower ST at weekdays, regardless of educational background. Future health promotion strategies should inform parents that frequent co-participation in PA, for example, in one’s own yard, is beneficial for lowering children’s ST.

Keywords: children; parents; physical activity; sedentary lifestyle; mediation analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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