Abstract
Worldwide, studies reveal that a significant proportion of adults and children do not meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity (PA). Therefore, it is crucial that proxy determinants for child physical activity enhancement could be identified. Parents have been considered to have a key role in child adherence to physical activity. Thus, this systematic review aimed to identify association between parents’ and children’s PA. The search of scientific papers was conducted from 31 October 2020 until 31 January 2021, on the Web of Science, Scopus, Psycinfo, SportDiscus, and Pubmed databases. The PRISMA protocol was used. Findings indicate a consistent association between parents’ and children’s (6–12 years old) PA. Despite the imbalance of the number of assessed fathers and mothers with the latter clearly overrepresented, a trend towards the same gender dyads on PA significant and positive association (father/son, mother/daughter) was evidenced. Results support the relevant importance of parents’ PA as role modeling (either explicitly or implicitly) for children’s PA. Besides, results revealed the importance of promoting PA in family for the enhancement of children’s PA. Moreover, and given the positive impact of exerting PA with the children on children’s PA, parents should spend more time practicing PA with their children, especially on MVPA and meeting the recommended guidelines for PA. Future studies should highlight the role of mediator variables on this interaction process, extending the knowledge on the contribution of other factors to the requested enhancement of children adherence to PA practice.
Highlights
Introduction iationsRegular physical activity (PA) is essential for humans’ health [1]
A total of 2512 titles were identified as potential papers, after checking and removing the duplicate papers from the different databases searched (Figure 1)
The selection was reduced to 145 papers
Summary
Regular physical activity (PA) is essential for humans’ health [1]. It is a pillar for a healthy growth and development [2]. Some studies [3,4,5] revealed that many chronical diseases could be prevented if, along with other healthy behaviors, people, as young as children and adolescents, would engage in PA practices, namely of moderate to vigorous intensity (MVPA). Some studies [10] confirmed WHO’s concerns [9] and reported that physical inactivity increased in several countries.
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