October 23, 2003

 

Exercise: Parent Support Makes a Difference

Self-reported data indicates that approximately three out of four North Dakota high school students are not getting enough regular, moderate physical activity, according to Jane Edwards, North Dakota State University Extension Service nutrition specialist.

Edwards points out that moderate physical activity is not necessarily exercise that causes sweating or hard breathing, but rather is sustained for 30 or more minutes, at least five days a week. A lower percentage of girls (22.3 percent) compared to boys (28.9 percent) get adequate levels of this type of exercise, both in the state and the nation.

Edwards notes that parents are important teachers for children. They function as role models and provide resources such as equipment and transportation. In recent research at Pennsylvania State University on 9 year-old girls and their parents, mothers were found to be much more logistically supportive of girls’ participation in physical activity as compared to fathers. Mothers enrolled their girls in sports and drove them to events more frequently. However, fathers were more likely to model physical activity.

Both of the parents’ contributions were found to be closely related to increased physical activity in their daughters. Even the support of just one parent significantly boosted participation.

What does this mean for parents? Edwards says that parents must value and actively support physical activity for themselves and for their families as a means to promote health and prevent obesity and related chronic diseases.

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Source: Jane Edwards, (701) 231-7478, jedwards@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Writer: Teresa Oe, (701) 231-8371, teresa.oe@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu