Exploring Mothers' Influence on Preschoolers' Physical Activity and Sedentary Time: A Cross Sectional Study.

Objectives Physical activity patterns can track from childhood into adulthood; therefore, establishing active behaviors early is imperative. Given the multidimensional nature of a mother's influence on their children, there is a need to utilize more comprehensive measures to assess the relationship between mother and child activity behaviors. Specifically, mothers have been identified as influencing preschoolers' activity behaviors and are often in control of organizing a family's opportunities to be active. The purpose of this study was to explore maternal influence on preschoolers' physical activity and sedentary time. Methods Preschoolers (n = 24) and their mothers (n = 24) wore Actical™ accelerometers for 7 consecutive days (e.g., 5 weekday, 2 weekend days), and mothers completed the adapted Environmental Determinants of Physical Activity in Preschool Children-Parent Survey. Direct entry regression analyses were conducted to explore maternal influence (e.g., role modeling through mothers' activity levels, maternal support, and enjoyment of being active) on preschoolers' activity levels. Results Maternal support was found to be a significant predictor of preschoolers' light and moderate-vigorous physical activity, and sedentary time (p < .05); accounting for 37.3-46.7% of the variation. Conclusions for Practice Mothers supportive behaviors influenced preschoolers' physical activity and sedentary time. Future research is needed to investigate facilitators/barriers that mothers with preschoolers encounter with regard to providing support to be active or modeling active behaviors themselves.

Comparing physical activity and sedentary time among overweight and nonoverweight preschoolers enrolled in early learning programs: a cross-sectional study.

Establishing appropriate physical activity and sedentary behaviours during early childhood is important to ensure children accrue the many associated health benefits. While physical activity levels have been reported as low within early learning programs, little research has explored the physical activity and sedentary time of Canadian preschoolers classified as overweight within these facilities. The purpose of this study was to compare objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time among preschoolers classified as overweight and nonoverweight in early learning programs. Direct assessment of physical activity and sedentary time of 216 preschool-aged children was collected via Actical accelerometers during early learning hours, while body mass index percentile was calculated based on preschoolers' objectively measured height and weight. Results of three 3-way ANOVAs suggest that rates of moderate to vigorous physical activity, total physical activity, and sedentary time (p > 0.05) did not significantly differ based on weight status, sex, and type of early learning facility. This study is one of few that has examined differences in overweight and nonoverweight preschoolers' sedentary time, and adds to the limited research exploring physical activity levels among overweight and nonoverweight preschoolers during early learning hours. Given the high rates of sedentary time reported, programming within early learning facilities is necessary to support preschoolers, regardless of weight status, to achieve increased physical activity levels and decreased sedentary time.