Abstract
Objective: Parental practices that aim at increasing children's physical activity were found to be related to children's physical activity. So far, however, the association between these two sets of variables was studied without considering the moderating role of children's BMI z-score, which may determine the effectiveness of parental practices. The present study aims at filling this void.Design: Longitudinal data were collected among 879 dyads of children (6–11 years old) and their parents. Seven parental physical activity practices were assessed at baseline. Physical activity, body mass, and height (measured among children) were assessed twice (at baseline and 7-month follow-up). Body mass and height were measured objectively. Seven moderation analyses were conducted.Results: Six parental practices emerged to predict physical activity of children: collaborative social control, overall support, stimulation to be active, general encouragement for physical activity, positive social control, and modeling. Children's BMI z-score moderated three associations. The relationships between parental positive social control, overall parental support, and general parental encouragement for physical activity (at baseline), and children's physical activity (at follow-up) were significant only among children with low and medium BMI z-score. In turn, collaborative social control and modeling predicted children's physical activity at the follow-up regardless child's BMI z-score.Conclusions: Parental positive social control or overall parental support may be ineffective in children with higher body mass who are in need to increase their physical activity.
Highlights
The occurrence of childhood obesity is a continuously developing trend (Wild et al, 2004; Reilly, 2006)
Parental positive social control or overall parental support may be ineffective in children with higher body mass who are in need to increase their physical activity
At Time 1 (T1), 879 parents and children participated in the study; 603 of them completed the measurement at 7-month follow-up (Time 2, T2)
Summary
The occurrence of childhood obesity is a continuously developing trend (Wild et al, 2004; Reilly, 2006). Obesity among children may result in health, emotional, and social problems (Dietz, 1998; Schwimmer et al, 2003). One of the key tasks of health and social sciences is to identify any modifiable practices or strategies, which can help to prevent obesity or constitute risk, or causal factors of obesity among children (Cachelin et al, 2014). Physical activity is crucial for the healthy growth of children and adolescents and it helps to prevent chronic illnesses later in life (US Department of Health Human Services, 1996; World Health Organization, 2008). Studies conducted among children showed that the relationship between the BMI z-score and the regularity of physical activity is inverse (Haerens et al, 2010)
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