Ex-athletes as Parents Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in Their Families: The Nutrition and Physical Activity of Mothers, Fathers, and 6-Year-Old Children

Abstract

Parents healthy behaviors have an undeniable influence on the long-term health of their children by preventing risky behaviors, as well as overweight or obese, which are currently a global problem. The aim of this study was to examine whether parents being ex-athletes is associated with their family having a healthy lifestyle and raising preschool children in healthy ways. An ex-athletes families ( n = 350) with partners (mean age Mmother = 34.20, SD = 5.29; Mfather = 36.73, SD = 5.63) and children and a control group of families ( n = 336; mean age Mmother = 34.47, SD = 5.05; Mfather = 36.88, SD = 5.69) participated in the study. We analyzed the influence of current participation in physical activity (PA) and proper nutrition habits of parents on the parents’ feeding styles and children PA. When at least one parent was an ex-athlete, the control over eating feeding style was used more often and the emotional feeding style was used less often in comparison to the control group. Children from families with an ex-athlete spent more hours per week on PA compared to children from the control group.

Too masculine for healthcare, too feminine for intense sports: correlation between gender conformity and pro-health behaviours

“…Gender stereotypes, as a collection of socially accepted beliefs regarding the mental characteristics of men and women as well as activities appropriate to each gender [8], categorise many behaviours as either feminine or masculine. For instance, there exist many stereotypes in different societies that characterise women as taking better care of their health, eating healthier, being quicker to react to illness, and being more caring [9][10][11]. On the other hand, men are more likely to be associated with unhealthy behaviours, such as smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol [12,13], which can be perceived as symbols of masculinity [14][15][16], and some researchers directly associate masculinity with harmful alcohol use [16][17][18].…”

The impact of parents' physical activity goals and parental attitudes on physical activity during leisure time among children in middle childhood

“…Lipowski et al ( 17 ) examined two groups of parents: former and current athletes. Among the families surveyed, 152 mothers were former athletes, and only 61% of them continued to play sports regularly; 198 fathers were former athletes, of whom 171 (86%) continued to play sports regularly.…”

“…Research has shown that exercise has a positive influence on body weight ( 7 , 8 ), mental health ( 9 ), cognitive functioning in children and in older adults ( 10 – 12 ), general self-esteem ( 13 ), and quality of PA in children ( 14 ). Additionally, the support of parents and their own health-promoting habits significantly affect the intensity and quality of PA undertaken within a family ( 15 – 17 ). The family plays an important role in shaping the physical and social organization of the environment for children aged 4–6 years ( 18 , 19 ).…”

“…The ways in which children spend their leisure time depend on their parents' involvement in PA and their health habits ( 17 , 26 ). Parental behaviors in relation to their children's PA provide insight into how family lifestyles influence the effectiveness of family-based interventions.…”

Improving the means and methods of training of young fencers aged 9-11 years

“…Baumgartner et al [19] believe that moderate physical activity in young athletes is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Other studies [20][21][22][23][24] also emphasize the need to care for the health of children and young athletes in physical activity at various levels. The authors also note the role of parents / coaches and the benefits of gendersensitive physical activity programming.…”