4.4.1
Gender Differences
The results showed that boys engaged in more vigorous and moderate activity than girls, whereas girls engaged in more sedentary behaviours than boys. These findings are consistent with previous studies investigating gender differences in accumulation of physical and sedentary activity in young children. A study on daily patterns of physical activity among Canadians observed similar differences in accumulation of physical activity among all age groups. Regardless of age group, boys were found to be more active than girls (Garriguet & Colley, 2012). Several other studies have also identified similar gender disparities in accumulation of physical activity (Colley, et al., 2011; Hussey, Bell, Bennett, O’Dwyer, & Gormley, 2006; Sallis, Prochaska, & Taylor, 2000; Troiana, et al., 2008).
In the current study, there were gender differences in levels of awareness of physical activity and sedentary behaviour; boys were found to overestimate vigorous activity more than girls, whereas girls tended to overestimate moderate and underestimate sedentary behaviour more than boys. These findings were consistent with a study
investigating the agreement between the TriTrac-R3D monitors (TTM) and youth recall of different intensities of physical activity (Cradock et al. 2003). No such association was found among parents of both girls and boys in terms of gender differences in over or under estimation of physical activity. The gender differences observed in over and under reporting of physical activity and sedentary behaviour have important implications. Health promotion efforts should be gender specific, perhaps separating female and male students in health education classes so that female awareness and participation in physical activity can be increased. Also, inclusion of physical activities that may be more
appealing to girls (e.g., dancing classes, gymnastics) may lead to increased participation. Furthermore, parents should be made aware of the differences in female and male physical activity reporting and activity levels. If parents are aware that females are less active than the child believes, then parents can focus more on ensuring their female children are more active and less sedentary when at home.
4.4.2
Age
Significant correlations were found between the child’s physical activity levels and age. Sedentary behaviour was also seen to increase as age increased. A positive correlation (r = .30) was found between overestimation of moderate activity and age. Similarly, the older the child, the more likely he/she was to underestimate sedentary activity (r = -.30). However, the current study was conducted on a narrow age range (10 to 13 years old). It is recommended that a broader age distribution be used in order to fully understand the implications of age on child physical activity awareness.
4.4.3
BMI
In the present study, no significant association was found between degree of over or under estimation and BMI. Corder et al. (2010) also examined the association between biological factors such as fat mass index and awareness of physical activity in children and their parents. The authors found no significant association between BMI and degree of over or underestimation among children. However, parents of children with a low fat mass index were more likely to overestimate child physical activity in the study by Corder et al. (2010). In the present study, no such association between BMI and parental awareness of their child’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour was observed. Hence, the child’s BMI was not associated with levels of awareness among parents and children. Parents and children lacked awareness irrespective of child’s BMI and obesity status.
Chapter 5
5
Conclusion
Assessment of awareness of physical activity was considered important since misperception of one’s physical activity may act as a barrier to behaviour change interventions: it may lead to people not seeing the need to change and having a low intention to change. In addition, individuals who perceive themselves to be sufficiently active, may be “overlooked or neglected in health promotion efforts as these commonly target self-rated inactive populations” (van Slujis, et al., 2007, p. 2). When considering awareness of child physical activity, parents are observed as the central agents of change in promotion of healthy behaviours, thus, lack of awareness among parents may act as a barrier to such behaviour change (Corder et al., 2010).
The primary objective of this study was to assess awareness of physical activity and sedentary behaviour among children and their parents by comparing subjective (i.e., self-report) and objective (i.e., accelerometer) measures. A secondary objective was to compare differences among parent and child levels of awareness and examine biological factors (i.e., gender, age, BMI) associated with levels of awareness in the study
population. In terms of the primary objective, the majority of the children and their parents overestimated the child’s physical activity and therefore both lacked awareness of the child’s daily physical activity. On the other hand, sedentary activity was greatly underestimated by both parents and their children. Although children demonstrated similar misperceptions of their activity levels and sedentary behavior, the lack of awareness among parents is alarming since parents are viewed as the central agents of change in health promotion efforts. Parents usually serve as a safety net for child health related behaviours, such as determining what to eat, and encouraging physical activity. However, if parents fail to recognize their child’s unhealthy behaviour as a problem, it is highly unlikely that the parent will proactively attempt to change that behaviour.
Accurate parental perceptions and acknowledgment of unhealthy behaviour in children (such as lack of physical activity, excessive sedentary lifestyle) serve as important factors in determining the success of pediatric obesity interventions (Rhee, DeLago, Arscott-
Mills, Mehta, & Davis, 2005). Parents who incorrectly perceive their child to be healthy and sufficiently active are likely to believe that obesity interventions or health promotion interventions are targeted towards other audiences. Thus, lack of awareness among both parents and their children may serve as a hindrance to health promotion strategies.