Parents who value vigorous exercise raise more active children
10-year old Tia Sims won a Get Your Rear In Gear 5K
A new study published in Health Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association, found that parents who promote vigorous exercise in the home raise more physically active children. Researchers found differences, however, in activity levels of boys and girls depending on the different types of activity supported by their parents. According the report, “endorsement of vigorous team sports increased activity levels in both boys and girls. These children also watched less television and spent less time on the computer. In contrast however, parents who valued all types of sports, including team sports and individual sports, increased boys activity levels but not the girls”.
Lead author Cheryl Braselton Anderson, PhD explained. “The difference between activity levels in the girls and boys had to do with the parents’ attitudes toward the types of activities. Parents encouraged sons to partake in vigorous- and moderate-intensity team and individual sports, and vigorous-intensity home chores, such as heavy yard work, more than they encouraged these activities for their daughters,” she said. “There still is gender bias on encouraging boys to participate in certain sports and strenuous activities more than girls.”
Ethnicity also played a role in the study. Hispanic parents valued strenuous household chores less than other parents and encouraged their boys athletically more than they encouraged their girls. African American boys and girls watched more television. Researchers also found that children of more educated parents placed a higher value on team sports and athletics for boys but not for girls.
The physical activity level of these students today may impact the health of their generation as adults. Research continues to link the practice of regular physical activity to disease prevention. A recent study on colon cancer found that people who exercised the most were significantly less likely to develop the disease than people who exercised less. Unfortunately, as the incidence of colon cancer is declining overall, rates for younger adults are on the rise. The authors of a recent study by the American Cancer Society theorize that these increases may be related to a number of factors including rising rates of obesity. As physical education programs and team sports are being cut from schools, a focus on physical fitness in the home will play a more crucial role in determining whether or not today’s children will begin exercise programs that will continue through adulthood.
