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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1367934
This article is part of the Research Topic Motivation for Physical Activity -Volume II View all 9 articles

Associations between Family Factors and Physical Activity Clustering in Preschool Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Provisionally accepted
Huang Ting Huang Ting 1,2*Guang Gao Zhao Guang Gao Zhao 2*Jinmei Fu Jinmei Fu 3Shunli SUN Shunli SUN 3Wendi Lv Wendi Lv 4ZIHAO HE ZIHAO HE 5Delong Chen Delong Chen 2Ruiming Chen Ruiming Chen 2
  • 1 School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
  • 2 School of Physical Education, Nanchang Normal University, Nanchang, China
  • 3 Jiangxi Sports Science and Medicine Center, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
  • 4 College of Sports and Health, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, China
  • 5 School of Sports and Human Sciences, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: The study aimed to examine the association between family factors and physical activity (PA) clustering in preschool children.Methods: Preschoolers' PA and sedentary behavior (SB) were assessed consecutively by ActiGraph accelerometers for seven days based on the cutoff counts developed by Pate and colleagues.Information about children, their parents and families was evaluated using a questionnaire. We developed a two-step approach to clustering PA in and outside of kindergarten. The Euclidean distance metric was utilized to distinguish between groups, while the Schwarz Bayesian Criterion was applied to identify the most optimal sub-group model. One-way ANOVA was used to assess the clustering effect, and logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of different clustering.We collected data from 291 preschool children aged 3 to 6 and divided them into three clusters-Inactive (50.2%), Active in Kindergarten (26.8%), and Active outside Kindergarten (23.0%)-with significant differences in PA and SB, revealing distinct temporal and spatial clustering patterns (Silhouette Coefficient = 0.3，P < 0.05). Furthermore, preschooler activity levels correlated significantly with factors including gender (OR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.19-0.66), age (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.00-1.10), birth weight (OR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.16-2.76), paternal age (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00-1.02), and maternal income (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.48-0.96).This study shows that the family environment or parents significantly influence the PA of preschool children. Older fathers may promote preschool children's PA through greater educational focus and financial stability, while higher maternal income can provide more opportunities and resources for preschool children to engage in active lifestyles. Thus, it is suggested that families providing more attention and exercise opportunities for preschool children's education can help improve their PA levels in the future.

    Keywords: physical activity, sedentary behavior, Preschool children, Family factors, clustering, Parents

    Received: 24 Jan 2024; Accepted: 14 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ting, Zhao, Fu, SUN, Lv, HE, Chen and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Huang Ting, School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350117, Fujian Province, China
    Guang Gao Zhao, School of Physical Education, Nanchang Normal University, Nanchang, China

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