Jp. Elder et al., DIRECT HOME OBSERVATIONS OF THE PROMPTING OF PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY IN SEDENTARY AND ACTIVE MEXICAN-AMERICAN AND ANGLO-AMERICAN CHILDREN, Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics, 19(1), 1998, pp. 26-30
Social interactions are important correlates of physical activity in c
hildren. Previous studies used global measures; the present study exam
ined the influence of specific social interactions on immediate physic
al activity in children with data obtained from the Behaviors of Eatin
g and Activity for Child Health: Evaluation System (BEACHES). The stud
y examined parental and peer prompting of physical activity at home am
ong 178 Mexican-American and 113 Anglo-American children at age 4 year
s and again at age 6.5 years. Most activity prompts came from adults i
nteracting with children when they were sedentary. A reduction in the
frequency of prompts from baseline to follow-up occurred in the prompt
er group (adult or child peer), gender, ethnicity, and preprompted act
ivity level categories. Children's responses to these prompts showed t
hat as they aged, they seemed to rely less on the interpersonal (espec
ially adult) aspects of their environment for cues to be more active.