Is the sedentary lifestyle of the parents inherited?
A study conducted by experts from the University of La Rioja (UR) has shown that the habits and education of parents impact on the physical activity of adolescents and that, in addition, the probability of not practicing it quadruples if the parents are sedentary
The research, published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicineand collected by the Sinc platform, has analyzed the behaviors, attitudes and motivations that adolescents show in front of the physical-sport practice in leisure time. The sample consulted includes 1,978 students, between 12 and 16 years old, from schools in the autonomous community of La Rioja chosen randomly.
In this way, the authors have made a methodological triangulation, using quantitative and qualitative techniques, through the application of questionnaires to adolescents and discussion groups with parents, teachers and students of Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO).
Thus, at the time of the survey, 78.4 percent of young people exercised physical and sports activities in their free time, 18.5 percent had stopped practicing them and 3.1 percent had never participated in activities of this type.
"It is four times more likely that a teenager is physically inactive when their parents have never participated in physical-sport activities in their free time, while when adults attach great importance to physical activity the sedentary lifestyle of their children is minimized", the researchers have pointed.
Sedentary lifestyle, is it inherited?
And, young people perceive that their parents are educational agents with great influence on their sedentary lifestyle. However, the study has confirmed that the educational level of parents does not affect the participation of their children in physical activities.
In fact, both teachers and teenagers reproach parents that the priority they attach to academic results is often linked to a minor importance of mobility and physical-sport practice in the leisure space, which promotes counterproductive effects such as the absence of active lifestyles among young people.
Girls, more sedentary
On the other hand, research has revealed that girls are three times more likely to avoid physical-sports activities in their free time, compared to boys. For the authors, gender stands as a factor strongly associated with these practices and will call for more exhaustive attention in future interventions and analyzes.
Following the conclusions obtained, new studies have been launched. Thus, along with six other Spanish universities, the UR participates in a project, funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, which explores how family dynamics can affect the healthy physical-sports leisure of the Spanish youth population.
