Enabling Better Physical Activity and Screen Time Behaviours for Adolescents from Middle Eastern Backgrounds: Semi-Structured Interviews with Parents

Nematullah Hayba, Yumeng Shi and Margaret Allman-Farinelli
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Nematullah Hayba: Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Yumeng Shi: Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Margaret Allman-Farinelli: Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-20

Abstract: The unrelenting obesity pandemic in Middle Eastern (ME) adolescents living in Australia warrants culturally responsive and locally engineered interventions. Given the influence of parents on the lifestyle behaviours of adolescents, this qualitative study aimed to capture the opinions of ME parents on the barriers and enablers to sufficient physical activity and limiting screen time behaviours in adolescents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 ME parents (female) aged 35–59 years old, most of whom resided in lower socioeconomic areas ( n = 19). A reflexive thematic analysis using the Theoretical Domains Framework and the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour model was performed for coding. Parents voiced confidence in their knowledge of the importance of physical activity and limiting screen time but were less optimistic in their ability to enable change in behaviours, especially for older adolescents without outside support. Despite adolescents having the necessary skills to engage in a wide array of sports, the parents admitted deep fears regarding the safety of the social environment and restricted their children’s independent mobility. Gender differences were noted, with parents reporting older girls expressing disinterest in sports and having limited physical opportunities to participate in sports at school. It may be that a community-based participatory framework is needed to improve physical activity opportunities and to address specific physical, social, and cultural barriers.

Keywords: adolescents; parents; interviews; physical activity; screen time; obesity; overweight; prevention interventions; ethnic minority (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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