Associations between parental support for physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity among Chinese school children: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study was to examine the associations between parental support for physical activity (PA) and levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among Chinese school children.

Methods

Study participants were 81,857 school-aged children (aged 9–17 years; mean age = 13 years; 49.0% boys) and their parents or guardians who took part in the 2016 Physical Activity and Fitness in China—The Youth Study project. The independent variables included various forms of parental support for PA ascertained through a survey completed by parents or guardians. The dependent variable was the children's average MVPA in minutes per day by self-report. Structure equation modeling was used to examine the associations between parental support for PA and children's MVPA minutes.

Results

The overall mean for MVPA participation time for the child participants was 48.82 ± 28.71 min/day. Significant associations between various forms of parental support and MVPA among children were found. Parental encouragement, accompanying, financial support, involvement, and role modeling for PA were positively associated with a high level of student MVPA participation. Parental PA knowledge-sharing was not associated with MVPA. The patterns of the associations were similar across sex, residence locale (i.e., urban and rural), and school grades (primary, junior middle, and junior high schools).

Conclusion

Findings from this study suggest that, among Chinese school children, parental support for PA is important in promoting and facilitating children's participation in MVPA.