Maternal and paternal support for physical activity and healthy eating in preschool children: a cross-sectional study

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Stephanie Schoeppe¹  Stewart G. Trost² 

[1] Centre for Children’s Health Research, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 62 Graham Street, 4101, South Brisbane, QLD, Australia;School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, 4059, Brisbane, QLD, Australia;

关键词: Social support;    Mother;    Father;    Diet;    Active play;    Cross-sectional;    Survey;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-015-2318-9

 received in 2015-05-27, accepted in 2015-09-22,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundParental support is a key influence on children’s health behaviours; however, no previous investigation has simultaneously explored the influence of mothers’ and fathers’ social support on eating and physical activity in preschool-aged children. This study evaluated the singular and combined effects of maternal and paternal support for physical activity (PA) and fruit and vegetable consumption (FV) on preschoolers’ PA and FV.MethodsA random sample comprising 173 parent–child dyads completed validated scales assessing maternal and paternal instrumental support and child PA and FV behaviour. Pearson correlations, controlling for child age, parental age, and parental education, were used to evaluate relationships between maternal and paternal support and child PA and FV. K-means cluster analysis was used to identify families with distinct patterns of maternal and paternal support for PA and FV, and one-way ANOVA examined the impact of cluster membership on child PA and FV.ResultsMaternal and paternal support for PA were positively associated with child PA (r = 0.37 and r = 0.36, respectively; P < 0.001). Maternal but not paternal support for FV was positively associated with child FV (r = 0.35; P < 0.001). Five clusters characterised groups of families with distinct configurations of maternal and paternal support for PA and FV: 1) above average maternal and paternal support for PA and FV, 2) below average maternal and paternal support for PA and FV, 3) above average maternal and paternal support for PA but below average maternal and paternal support for FV, 4) above average maternal and paternal support for FV but below average maternal and paternal support for PA, and 5) above average maternal support but below average paternal support for PA and FV. Children from families with above average maternal and paternal support for both health behaviours had higher PA and FV levels than children from families with above average support for just one health behaviour, or below average support for both behaviours.ConclusionsThe level and consistency of instrumental support from mothers and fathers for PA and FV may be an important target for obesity prevention in preschool-aged children.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Schoeppe and Trost. 2015