Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health

The family that plays together stays healthy Physically active children have physically active parents

This is the finding of a study published online in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

Dr Jim Dollman from the University of South Australia led the study which surveyed children aged 9-15 years from the same eight schools in 1985 and 2004 on sport participation and perceptions of parents’ physical activity.

The study found evidence that parents play a more significant ‘gate-keeper’ role for organised sport participation compared with other leisure activities children might engage in.

“Children may be influenced through direct observation of their parents’ active lifestyle, and consequently adopt these values and behaviours,” said Dr Dollman.

“Physically active parents are also more likely to offer forms of support to children such as provision of transport, fees for participation and encouragement.

“Engagement in organised sport has been associated with higher physical fitness and lower levels of body fat among young people.

Between the 1985 and 2004 surveys there was a significant increase in the link between parents’ physical activity and their children’s sport participation.

“This suggests that the part parents play as role models is more important now than ever before, as families deal with ‘time-poor’ parents, denser traffic, more electronic entertainment devices and less safe neighbourhoods,” said Dr Dollman.