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Child participation in sports is influenced by patterns of lifestyle‐related behaviors
Author(s) -
Rodrigues Daniela,
Padez Cristina,
MachadoRodrigues Aristides M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.23142
Subject(s) - psychology , environmental health , medicine
Objectives The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of child and family characteristics and behaviors, and to determine the association of those patterns with child participation in sports. Methods A questionnaire and anthropometric measures were used to collect data on 834 parents and their 6‐ to 10‐year‐old children. A principal component analysis identified child and parental patterns, which were tested for association with child participation in extracurricular sports (ES). Results Seven patterns were identified: (1) socio‐economic, (2) child obesity, (3) parental TV viewing, (4) father's physical activity (PA), (5) mother's PA, (6) child screen time, and (7) parental reported barriers. After adjustment, patterns 1 and 7 ( P < .001), pattern 2 ( P = .01), and patterns 5 and 6 ( P = .04) were significantly associated with the number of sports practiced by children while, patterns 1 and 7 ( P < .001), pattern 2 ( P = .03), and patterns 4 and 5 ( P = .01) were significantly associated with frequency of participation in ES. Conclusion Future interventions to promote children's participation in sports should be based on a socio‐ecological model and targeted to high‐risk populations showing multiple risks such as a lower socio‐economic status, inactive parents, or obese children.