Associations of Chinese Mothers' Education with Children's Diet and Physical Activity

Abstract

Objectives: Children's health has attracted much attention. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between mothers' education duration and children's health behaviors in terms of diet and physical activity (PA) and the potential mechanisms. Methods: We used data, from 6610 mother-child pairs, from the 1993-2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey. We conducted a series of ordinary least squares regression analyses to explore the associations of mothers' education duration with children's health behaviors. We also conducted subgroup analyses and analyses of the underlying mechanisms. Results: We found that mothers' education duration was significantly and positively associated with all diet indicators (children's awareness of diet guidelines and healthy diet knowledge) and PA indicators (children's PA participation, PA duration on weekdays, and PA duration at weekends) assessed. These associations may be mediated by mothers' health opinions, health behaviors, and income. The associations differed by children's gender and age, with mothers' education duration having larger associations for girls than boys, and the associations with PA duration differing by age. Conclusion: Our research highlights the important associations of mothers' education with children's health behaviors. Policymakers in developing countries should pay attention to policies for promoting female education.