Within-Subject Associations of Maternal Physical Activity Parenting Practices on Children's Objectively Measured Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity

Parenting Practices Are Associated With Out-of-School Physical Activity in US Adolescents in 2014

INTRODUCTION

Lack of physical activity (PA) is associated with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Parenting practices influence PA in young children. However, there is little evidence available for adolescents. We examined whether parenting practices were associated with out-of-school PA (OSPA) in US adolescents.

METHODS

This cross-sectional 2019 study analyzed data from the 2014 FLASHE study, a web-based, quota-sampled survey of parent-adolescent dyads. Inclusion required survey completion and parents to live with their teen (ages 12-17 y old). Physically limited adolescents were excluded. Dyads were stratified by teen age. Exposures included parental modeling, monitoring, facilitation, restriction, guided choice, and pressure. The outcomes of interest were OSPA Youth Activity Profile scores. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using adjusted logistic regressions.

RESULTS

A total of 1109 dyads were included. Guided choice increased odds of OSPA for 15- to 17-year-olds (OR = 2.12; 95% CI, 1.17-3.84). Facilitation increased odds of OSPA for 12- to 14-year-olds (OR = 2.21; 95% CI, 1.13-4.33). Monitoring decreased odds of OSPA for 15- to 17-year-olds (OR = 0.34; 95% CI, 0.20-0.57) and 12- to 14-year-olds (OR = 0.45; 95% CI, 0.27-0.74). Friend support increased odds of OSPA in 15- to 17-year-olds (OR = 4.03; 95% CI, 2.29-7.08) and 12- to 14-year-olds (OR = 3.05; 95% CI 1.69-5.51).

CONCLUSION

Future interventions should prioritize (1) shared decision making for older teens, (2) access to PA opportunities for younger adolescents, and (3) promoting peer PA and friend support for everyone.

Parental Influences on Physical Activity and Screen Time among Preschool Children from Low-Income Families in Brazil

Background: Children from low-middle income countries (LMIC) are disproportionately affected by obesity, and low physical activity (PA) and high screen time (ST) are major contributors. Parents are key influencers on children's PA and ST, yet, no study has investigated relationships between parenting practices and children's PA and ST in LMIC families. This study examined parental influences on PA and ST among preschool-aged children from low-income families in Brazil. Methods: Parents completed a validated, culturally adapted interviewer-administered survey assessing child ST and parenting practices. Child sedentary time, total movement, and energetic play were measured by accelerometery. Results: Data were available on 77 parent-child dyads [mean age 4.6 years (standard deviation = 0.8), 53% male, and 41% mixed-race]. Parenting practices associated with greater PA were use of PA to reward/control behavior (rho = 0.34-0.49), limiting or monitoring ST (rho = 0.30), explicit modeling/enjoyment of PA (rho = 0.24), verbal encouragement for PA (rho = 0.30), and importance and value of PA (rho = 0.24-0.38; p < 0.05). Parenting practices associated with higher ST were rules around active play indoor (rho = 0.23), use of ST to reward/control behavior (rho = 0.30), exposure to screens (rho = 0.40), and explicit modeling/enjoyment of ST (rho = 0.50; p < 0.05). Conclusion: Recognized parenting practices such as explicit modeling of PA and ST, monitoring and limiting ST, and rules and restrictions about PA and ST are associated with young children's PA and ST in low-income Brazilian families. The findings identify potential targets for family-based interventions to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors and prevent childhood obesity.

Day-level associations of physical activity and sedentary time in mother-child dyads across three years: a multi-wave longitudinal study using accelerometers

Understanding associations between mothers' and children's physical activity and sedentary behavior on more fine-grained timescales can provide insights into real-time intervention opportunities. This study examined the extent to which mothers' and their children's device-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time (SDT) were associated at the day level during non-school time. Mother-child dyads (N = 193; baseline Mean ages = 40.69 ± 6.11 [mother] and 9.57 ± 0.89 [child] years) provided 3,135 paired days of accelerometry data from six bi-annual waves across three years. Controlling for covariates, multilevel models revealed that mothers' and their children's MVPA and SDT were positively associated at the day level during non-school time, both on weekdays and weekends. During weekdays, the day-level association for SDT was stronger for older than younger children, and the day-level association for MVPA was stronger for boys than girls. Designing family-based interventions targeting school-age children and their mothers during non-school time across the week may be useful for promoting active lifestyles.

Associations of Maternal and Paternal Parenting Practices With Children's Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Physical Activity: Preliminary Findings From an Ecological Momentary Study

BACKGROUND

Childhood obesity prevention interventions routinely focus on changing maternal parenting practices. Failure to assess how fathers' weight-related (ie, diet and physical activity) parenting practices contribute to children's energy balance behaviors limits the understanding of their paternal role within the family. Examining the independent and interacting effects of fathers' and mothers' weight-related parenting practices on children's diet and physical activity addresses this important research gap.

OBJECTIVE

This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate the within-subject and between-subject independent and interactive effects of maternal and paternal encouragement to eat and preparation of fruits and vegetables (F/V) and encouragement of and taking their child to be physically active on their child's self-reported F/V intake and physical activity engagement.

METHODS

Participants included mother-father-child triads (n=22 triads, n=205-213 prompts/occasions) in the Mothers and Their Children's Health Study and the University of Southern California Fathers Study. Simultaneously, mothers and fathers (ages_mean 44.2 years, SD 5.6, and 45.2 years, SD 8.1, respectively), and their children (age_mean 12.0 years, SD 0.7) completed up to 8 randomly prompted EMA surveys per day on separate smartphones for 7 days. At each prompt, mothers and fathers each reported whether they did the following in the past 2 hours: (1) encouraged their child to eat F/V, (2) prepared F/V for their child, (3) encouraged their child to be physically active, or (4) took their child to be physically active. Children self-reported whether they consumed F/V or were physically active in the past 2 hours.

RESULTS

Results from Bayesian multilevel logistic models (all in log-odd units) indicated that at the within-subject level, greater maternal encouragement (β=2.28, 95% CI 0.08 to 5.68) of eating F/V was associated with greater child report of eating F/V, but paternal encouragement (β=1.50, 95% CI -0.83 to 4.52) showed no effects above and beyond maternal encouragement. Additionally, greater than usual paternal encouragement (β=2.28, 95% CI 0.08 to 5.54) and maternal encouragement (β=2.94, 95% CI 0.36 to 6.69) of physical activity had significant independent effects and were associated with greater child report of physical activity. No other within-subject or between-subject associations nor interactive effects were significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study suggest that fathers play a role in supporting their children's physical activity but not their intake of F/V. Future EMA studies should recruit larger samples to evaluate the independent and interacting roles of mothers' and fathers' weight-related parenting practices on child's obesogenic behaviors.

Paternal and maternal support of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in children on weekdays and weekends: a cross-sectional study

Background

Most studies of associations between parental support behaviours for physical activity (PA) and children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) have been conducted in developed countries, and they have focused on maternal or parental support behaviours. Children’s MVPA time (i.e., weekdays vs. weekends) has not been adequately differentiated. This paper investigated the associations of paternal and maternal support behaviours for PA with the proportion of children who met the MVPA recommendations on weekdays and weekends in China.

Methods

Cross-sectional data of 517 father–child dyads and 1422 mother–child dyads were analysed. The children recorded PA diaries on 7 consecutive days to assess their MVPA time. The father or mother completed a questionnaire concerning their support for children’s PA. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate the independent effects of paternal and maternal support behaviours for PA on whether children met the MVPA recommendations for weekdays, weekends, and the whole week.

Results

Significantly fewer children met the MVPA recommendations on weekends (37.8%) than on weekdays (62.8%). Higher paternal (odds ratio [OR] = 1.098, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.009–1.195) and maternal (OR = 1.076, 95% CI: 1.021–1.134) total support behaviour scores were associated with higher odds of children meeting the MVPA recommendations on weekends, after controlling for covariates. Paternal PA knowledge-sharing with the child was positively associated with children meeting the MVPA recommendations on weekends (OR = 1.319, 95% CI: 1.055–1.649); it tended to be associated with children meeting the MVPA recommendations on weekdays and throughout the week, although these associations were not statistically significant. Maternal reservation of PA time for the child was positively associated with a higher likelihood of children meeting the MVPA recommendations on weekdays (OR = 1.160, 95% CI: 1.025–1.313), weekends (OR = 1.241, 95% CI: 1.097–1.403), and throughout the week (OR = 1.214, 95% CI: 1.076–1.369).

Conclusions

Paternal and maternal support behaviours for PA should be enhanced on weekends to increase children’s MVPA. Fathers should share PA knowledge with children and mothers should reserve PA time for children every day.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-11730-8.

Investigating the momentary association between maternal support and children's fruit and vegetable consumption using ecological momentary assessment

Despite compelling evidence that fruit and vegetable (F/V) consumption can reduce the risk of obesity and chronic disease, most children fail to meet the daily recommendations for dietary consumption. Theoretical models and empirical findings suggest that parents play a key role in guiding children's overall dietary behaviors. To extend previous findings, the current study utilized ecological momentary assessment (EMA) on smartphones to assess the within-subject and between-subject effects of maternal support (i.e., encouragement, preparation) of F/V on their child's F/V consumption. Mother-child dyads (n = 191) completed six semi-annual 7-day waves of EMA surveys. EMA assessed mothers' past 2-h support for F/V and children's F/V consumption. At the within-subject level, greater maternal encouragement for F/Vs (OR = 2.41) and maternal preparation of F/Vs (OR = 1.43) than usual were associated with increased odds of their child eating F/V during the same 2-h window. At the between-subject level, greater maternal preparation of F/V (OR = 5.99), compared to other mothers, was associated with increased odds of their child eating F/V. Children with lower BMI (vs. higher BMI) were more likely to consume F/Vs when their mothers encouraged them to eat F/V (OR = 0.74). These findings suggest that maternal support may have a strong and immediate effect on children's F/V consumption. Theoretical models on behavior change should consider how explanatory factors, such as parental support, may vary at the momentary level. Boosting maternal support at the momentary level may be a critical component of future mobile-based interventions to address childhood obesity.

Mother-child dyadic influences of affect on everyday movement behaviors: evidence from an ecological momentary assessment study

BACKGROUND

Research has shown that affect is associated with everyday movement behaviors in children and adults. However, limited work to date has investigated dyadic influences of momentary affect on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time among children and their mothers using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).

METHODS

Mothers and their children (eight to 12-years-old at baseline) from the Los Angeles metropolitan area participated in a longitudinal study with six semi-annual measurement waves across three years. During each measurement wave, mothers and children reported momentary negative and positive affect via a custom smartphone-based EMA application across seven days (randomly sampled up to eight times per day). Each dyad member's momentary affective states were used to predict their own and the other dyad member's accelerometer-measured MVPA and sedentary time in the prompt-matched 45-min time window. Multilevel modeling within the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) framework was applied to accommodate the nested dyadic nature of the data.

RESULTS

At the within-subject level, when children had higher-than-usual positive affect, they engaged in greater MVPA and less sedentary time in the prompt-matched 45-min window (actor effects; ps < .001). When mothers experienced higher-than-usual positive affect, they engaged in more sedentary time in the same 45-min window (actor effect; p < .001). Children's higher-than-usual positive affect also predicted more MVPA time of their mothers (partner effect; p < .05). At the between-subjects level, for mothers who reported higher average negative affect than other mothers, their children overall had less MVPA and more sedentary time (partner effects ps < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study extends the literature by demonstrating that mothers' and children's everyday physical activity and sedentary time are not only associated with their own affective states, but also may be influenced by the affective states of each other. Our findings suggest that affective states have the potential to influence movement behaviors in mother-child dyads' everyday lives. Affective underpinnings of physical activity and sedentary behaviors should be further studied in order to develop family-based intervention strategies to influence these behaviors.