Parental Influences on Physical Activity Behavior in Children and Adolescents: A Brief Review

Understanding the social and environmental factors that influence physical activity is important in the development of effective interventions to increase physical activity behavior in children and adolescents. One factor that has received considerable research attention is the influence of parenting practices and behaviors on child physical activity. This review evaluated 103 studies that examined the influence of parental physical activity, parental support for child physical activity, parenting style, and family cohesion on child and adolescent activity behavior. Results showed that parental support was consistently positively and significantly associated with child activity. With respect to the association between parent and child physical activity, there was little evidence of association. Although the evidence linking parenting style and family cohesion with child physical activity was nonsupportive, too few studies have examined these relationships to draw firm conclusions. Priorities for future research and implications for health care professionals are discussed.