Locations of joint physical activity in parent-child pairs based on accelerometer and GPS monitoring

Abstract

Background: Parental factors may play an important role in influencing children's physical activity levels.

Purpose: This cross-sectional study sought to describe the locations of joint physical activity among parents and children.

Methods: Parent-child pairs (N = 291) wore an Actigraph GT2M accelerometer and GlobalSat BT-335 global positioning systems (GPS) device over the same 7-day period. Children were ages 8-14 years. Joint behavior was defined by a linear separation distance of less than 50 m between parent and child. Land use classifications were assigned to GPS datapoints.

Results: Joint physical activity was spread across residential locations (35 %), and commercial venues (24 %), and open spaces/parks (20 %). Obese children and parents performed less joint physical activity in open spaces/parks than under/normal weight children and parents (ps < 0.01).

Conclusions: Understanding where joint parent-child physical activity naturally occurs may inform location-based interventions to promote these behaviors.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00986011.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1

Joint parent-child behaviors during non-school waking hours by land use categories. The x-axis indicates the types of joint parent-child behavior. The y-axis indicates the percent of time the joint behavior occurred in each land use category. Land use categories were as follows: residential (e.g., houses, apartments, condos), commercial (e.g., retail, restaurants, office use, manufacturing), open space (e.g., vacant lots, parks, golf courses, gardens, beaches), educational (e.g., schools and school grounds), facilities (e.g., community centers, churches, libraries), and other (e.g., military, mixed uses, airports, freeways, roads, utilities). Joint behavior was defined by a linear separation distance of less than 50m between the parent and child. MVPA = Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity. Sed. = Sedentary behavior.

Figure 2

Geovisualization of Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring points for a parent-child pair show joint moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) occurring within a land use categorized as open space. Joint behavior was defined by a linear separation distance of less than 50m between the parent and child.

Figure 3

Predicted probability of joint parent-child moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during non-school waking hours in different land use categories by children’s Body Mass Index (BMI) category. Land use categories were as follows: residential (e.g., houses, apartments, condos), commercial (e.g., retail, restaurants, office use, manufacturing), open space (e.g., vacant lots, parks, golf courses, gardens, beaches), educational (e.g., schools and school grounds), facilities (e.g., community centers, churches, libraries), and other (e.g., military, mixed uses, airports, freeways, roads, utilities). Error bars on the graph represent standard errors. Joint behavior was defined by a linear separation distance of less than 50m between the parent and child.

Figure 4

Predicted probability of joint parent-child moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during non-school waking hours in different land use categories by parents’ Body Mass Index (BMI) category. Land use categories were as follows: residential (e.g., houses, apartments, condos), commercial (e.g., retail, restaurants, office use, manufacturing), open space (e.g., vacant lots, parks, golf courses, gardens, beaches), educational (e.g., schools and school grounds), facilities (e.g., community centers, churches, libraries), and other (e.g., military, mixed uses, airports, freeways, roads, utilities). Error bars on the graph represent standard errors. Joint behavior was defined by a linear separation distance of less than 50m between the parent and child.