Influencing Childhood Activity
Parents—especially dads—are important exercise role models.
Motivate clients who are parents by explaining that their training not only benefits them, but also positively influences their children to lead a healthy lifestyle. Researchers from Finland and Australia studied the relationship between parents and youth offspring to identify influences over children to lead physically active lives, since childhood activity results in better health as a young adult and is a strong predictor of a physically active lifestyle throughout adulthood.
Data analysis showed that long-term physical activity by parents encourages the same behavior among offspring from youth through early adulthood. In particular, fathers had more influence than mothers, but a mom’s active lifestyle also influenced children to move more. Sustained participation in youth physical activity is linked with adult physical activity.
The research is reported in Preventive Medicine (2022; 163 [107211]).
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
