Parents who want to have active kids need to be active themselves as a new study finds that parents’ opinion on physical activity influence their kid’s activity levels.

Findings of the latest study establish a link between how a parent perceives activeness and their offspring’s athletic capabilities. In other words, as a parent if you believe in exercising, then your child will follow suit.

The study was initiated by the researchers from the Oregon State University in the United States in collaboration with the researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia.

Dr Stewart Trost who is the lead author of the study and also director of the Obesity Prevention Research Core at the Oregon University affirms, “Active parents may be more likely to have active children because they encourage that behavior through the use of support systems and opportunities for physical activity.”

“But there is no statistical evidence that a child is active simply because they see that their parents exercise,” he adds.

Study details and findings
Nearly 268 children in the age group of two to five years from 13 child care centers in Queensland participated in the study that also included 156 parents and caretakers of the children.

The researchers examined the level of physical activity undertaken by the parents and also how much did they enjoy doing it. Their thoughts on how important physical activity was for the child and how often the kid was involved in physical activity per week were also analyzed.

Study participants were observed in both home and at child care settings and results for both varied significantly.

It was observed that there was a positive connection between the parent’s perception on the athletic capabilities of their child and the child’s’ activity levels in the home setting but no such relation was found in the parent and child’s activeness in the child care setting.

Dr Stewart Trost informs, “The manner in which parents' perceptions influenced child [physical activity] was dependent on context. In the home setting, parents' perceptions of competence influenced children's [physical activity] behavior both directly and indirectly through its effect on parental support for PA.”

“This suggested that parents who perceived their children to be more competent and capable of actively playing were more likely to provide the instrumental and emotional support required for young children to be physically active.”

Benefits of physical activity for kids
Past studies have clearly established the importance of physical activity in kids as it is known to boost the health of a kid.

Playing or exercising also help kids in maintaining a healthy weight and developing a strong immunity against various diseases. Physical activity also strengthens the muscles and bones of a child.

The present study and its findings have been published in the journal, Preventive Medicine.