Leading by Example: Association Between Mother and Child Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior

Purpose: The authors examined the relationship between mother and child activity. Methods: The authors compared moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time of low-income mothers with obesity and their 6- to 12-year-old children on week (WD) and weekend (WE) days. A total of 196 mother-child pairs wore accelerometers simultaneously for a week. Mothers completed questionnaires. Spearman correlation and multivariate regression were used. Results: WE MVPA (accelerometry) was significantly correlated between mothers with children aged 6-7 (r(s) = .35) and daughters (r(s) = .27). Self-reported maternal PA time spent with one of their children was significantly correlated with the WE MVPA of all children (r(s) = .21) and children aged 8-10 (r(s) = .22) and with the WD MVPA of all children (r(s) = .15), children aged 8-10 (r(s) = .23), aged 11-12 (r(s) = .52), and daughters (r(s) = .37), and inversely correlated to the WD sedentary time of all children (r(s) = .21), children aged 8-10 (r(s) = -.30), aged 11-12 (r(s) = -.34), daughters (r(s) = -.26), and sons (r(s) = -.22). In multivariate regression, significant associations were identified between reported child-mother PAtime together and child MVPA and sedentary time (accelerometry). Conclusions: Mothers may influence the PA levels of their children with the strongest associations found in children aged 6-7 and daughters. Mother-child coparticipation in PA may lead to increased child MVPA and decreased sedentary behavior.