Parental influence on the physical activity of Chinese children

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the association among parental moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), parental support, and the MVPA of children by gender. Participants comprised of 172 boys and 151 girls aged seven to 11 years old from three primary schools in Shanghai. Their parents were also included as research respondents. Accelerometers were utilized to measure MVPA duration among the children. Questionnaires that focused on parental support and MVPA were completed by the parents. Results indicated that only 4% of the children met the recommended MVPA duration of 60 minutes per day based on objective data. Parental support consisted of two constructs: logistic support and explicit modelling. Boys engaged in more MVPA than girls although no gender differences were noted in terms of the logistic support and explicit modelling of parents and their MVPA. A regression analysis revealed that 23.3% of the variance in MVPA for boys was explained by explicit modelling and MVPA of fathers. Moreover, 10.5% of the variance for girls was explained by the explicit modelling of mothers. Thus, parents should be highly encouraged to support the MVPA of their children by acting as role models. They can also enhance the MVPA of their children using different methods based on gender.

Parental and peer support and modelling in relation to domain-specific physical activity participation in boys and girls from Germany

“…In a study of fifth grade students from Germany, Schoeppe et al [30] confirmed the same-sex imitation hypotheses by finding relationships between girls’ leisure-time physical activity and maternal sport participation and between boys’ activity and paternal sport participation. Similar results were found by Lijuan et al [31] in Chinese children, by Kirby et al [32] in Scottish adolescents, and by Cheng et al [33] in Brazilian adolescents. Another study from Germany reported positive relationships of social support and social modelling from parents and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in elementary school children and also emphasised gender differences in MVPA, but did not analyse parental influences on MVPA separately for both genders [27].…”

“…Focussing on gender differences in the provision of social support, Hoefer et al [35] found parents being more likely to transport boys to physical activity locations than girls. However, in a recent study of 11-year old children from Shanghai [36] no gender differences in terms of logistic support and explicit modelling for physical activity of parents were observed.…”

Parental and Peer Support are Associated with Physical Activity in Adolescents: Evidence from 74 Countries

“…In contrast, previous studies conducted in the US, Germany and Scotland reported that compared to boys, girls might receive less peer support for PA, and they might be engaging in more 'non-physically active' activities with their peers [8,10,14]. However, studies conducted in China reported that parents do not differentiate between sons and daughters when providing support [33,34], suggesting that some cross-cultural differences may exist.…”

Correlates of Physical Activity of Students in Secondary School Physical Education: A Systematic Review of Literature

“…Substantial evidence indicated that girls were less active than boys [67, 68]. The main reason was that activeness, bravery, aggressiveness, and perseverance are valued more in boys than in girls while gentleness, kindness, approachability, sensitivity, quietness, weakness, and malleability are valued in girls [69]. Moreover, secondary school students are entering their teenage years, a period characterised by increasing sex differences.…”