Abstract
Social support, particularly from family, is crucial for physical activity (PA) among youth. This study examined the association between father support and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in Latina pre-teens and explored the moderating role of body mass index (BMI). Cross-sectional analysis. Baseline data from a pilot randomized controlled trial in San Diego County. Sixty Latina pre-teen girls aged 8-11years. Girls' MVPA was measured via accelerometry. An exploratory factor analysis created a composite measure of father support, reported by mothers. Hierarchical linear regression models, adjusting for covariates, assessed the relationship between father support and MVPA. Interaction models tested the moderating effect of BMI z-score (zBMI). Father support was significantly associated with MVPA (b-range = 0.07 to 0.08, 95%CI = 0.02, 0.13) after adjusting for age, income, acculturation, and maternal support. However, this association became non-significant with the inclusion of zBMI (b = 0.06, 95%CI: -0.01, 0.11). The interaction model showed a significant positive association between father support and MVPA among girls with a healthy weight (b = 0.27, 95%CI: 0.27, 2.68) but not among those with overweight/obesity (b = 0.95, 95%CI: -0.38, 2.28). Our findings indicate a potential association between father support and daughters' MVPA among girls with a healthy weight. Further research is needed to understand why this association is not observed in girls with overweight/obesity.
Published Version
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