Title |
Maternal awareness of young children’s physical activity: levels and cross-sectional correlates of overestimation
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Published in |
BMC Public Health, October 2013
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DOI | 10.1186/1471-2458-13-924 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Kathryn R Hesketh, Alison M McMinn, Simon J Griffin, Nicholas C Harvey, Keith M Godfrey, Hazel M Inskip, Cyrus Cooper, Esther MF van Sluijs |
Abstract |
Factors associated with parental awareness of children's physical activity (PA) levels have not been explored in preschool-aged children. This paper investigates maternal awareness of preschool-aged children's PA levels and determined correlates associated with maternal overestimation of PA. Data from the Southampton Women's Survey, a UK population-based study, were collected March 2006 through June 2009. Daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were derived using accelerometry in 478 4-year-old children. Mothers who were realistic or overestimated their child's PA were identified. Log-binomial regression was used to analyse correlates of maternal overestimation of PA levels in children whose mothers perceived them to be active (n = 438). 40.8% of children were classified as inactive: 89.7% of these were perceived to be active by their mothers (over-estimators). These mothers were more likely to think their child sometimes lacked skills required to be physically active (RR (95% CI) = 1.29(1.03-1.63)) and their child was more likely to attend nursery full-time (RR = 1.53(1.14-2.04)). They were less likely to have older children at home (RR = 0.71(0.56-0.90)). Almost 90% of mothers of inactive preschool-aged children perceive their child to be active. Nursery-school attendance and having older siblings at home may be important to consider when designing behavioural interventions to increase PA in preschool children. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 21 | 45% |
Canada | 2 | 4% |
Australia | 2 | 4% |
United States | 1 | 2% |
Brazil | 1 | 2% |
Germany | 1 | 2% |
India | 1 | 2% |
Netherlands | 1 | 2% |
Singapore | 1 | 2% |
Other | 0 | 0% |
Unknown | 16 | 34% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 32 | 68% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 7 | 15% |
Scientists | 5 | 11% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 3 | 6% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 2 | 2% |
Netherlands | 1 | 1% |
Unknown | 81 | 96% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 12 | 14% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 11 | 13% |
Student > Master | 11 | 13% |
Student > Bachelor | 11 | 13% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 8 | 10% |
Other | 13 | 15% |
Unknown | 18 | 21% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 15 | 18% |
Sports and Recreations | 11 | 13% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 10 | 12% |
Social Sciences | 9 | 11% |
Psychology | 8 | 10% |
Other | 8 | 10% |
Unknown | 23 | 27% |