Preventive Medicine

Background. This study explores underresearched sociocultural predictors of children’s physical activity Levels of physical activity among children are highly and fitness, with particular attention paid to the influvariable, and few consistent correlates have been idenence of ethnicity independent from potential contified. The lack of identification of predictors of childfounders such as social class. hood activity is alarming, given the argument that Methods. Utilizing a 1997/1998 cross-sectional sample childhood exercise patterns extend into adulthood [1,2] of 107 children (ranging in age from 6.5 to 13 years, and, subsequently, exert a strong influence on disease mean 5 10 years) participating in a longitudinal study risk later in life. Even in childhood, linkages between of childhood obesity in Birmingham, Alabama, prephysical activity and early disease indicators such as dictors of television viewing, vigorous exercise, habitobesity [3,4], cardiorespiratory fitness [5], and blood ual physical activity, exercise in school P.E. classes, pressure [5] have been identified. The shortand longsports team participation, and maximal aerobic capacterm relationships between activity and health suggest ity were identified, utilizing multiple regression analthe necessity of identifying determinants of physical yses. Results. The results indicated few ethnic differences activity among children in order to better inform curin childhood physical activity once characteristics rent research on children’s physical activity patterns such as social class and single vs dual parent family and to guide intervention programs directed at activbackground were controlled for. Specific multivariate ity promotion. findings included higher levels of television viewing A typology useful in understanding the multitude of and vigorous exercise among children from single parfactors which may influence children’s physical activity ent homes; lower habitual physical activity among patterns, modified from Kohl and Hobbs’ classification girls; less P.E. exercise among African Americans and [6], considers determinants at four levels: the physiologchildren from single parent homes; higher sports team ical level, including factors such as maturation and participation among older yet physically immature growth, the psychological level, including motivation, children; and higher physical fitness among boys, Cauself-efficacy, and sense of control, the sociocultural casians, physically mature children, and children from level, including family characteristics, sociodemographsingle parent homes. ics, and role models, and the ecological level, including Conclusions. This study illustrates the multidimensional nature of childhood physical activity and the the availability of facilities for activity, physical safety, influence of sociocultural factors on children’s activity and climate. Interestingly, the majority of previous repatterns. q 1999 American Health Foundation and Academic Press search exploring determinants of physical activity