DIRECT HOME OBSERVATIONS OF THE PROMPTING OF PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY IN SEDENTARY AND ACTIVE MEXICAN-AMERICAN AND ANGLO-AMERICAN CHILDREN

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.