Physical Activity Among Immigrant Children: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: The health benefits of physical activity (PA) for children are well documented. However, little is known about PA patterns among immigrant children. Methods: The authors reviewed research on PA patterns of immigrant children. The inclusion criteria included peer-reviewed articles published from January 2010 to May 2018 in English, French, or Spanish that included primary-school-aged (6–12 y) children, and data on immigration status. Results: A total of 11 articles were included in the analyses. These studies revealed a deficit of PA among immigrant children. Immigration status (immigrant or nonimmigrant) and generation of immigration (first, second, and third), ethnic origin, and gender were associated with PA patterns. In general, PA levels were lower among first-generation immigrant children, children of Hispanic and East Asian origin, and girls. The results suggest that questionnaire measures might be biased or inaccurate among immigrant children, highlighting the need for the integration of mixed methods (objective and subjective measures). Conclusions: A large proportion of children do not meet PA guidelines, and this might be more problematic for immigrant children. Future studies incorporating time since immigration, comparative analyses on gender, sociocultural and socioeconomic characteristics, and mixed methodology could provide a more complete portrait of PA patterns and opportunities for immigrant children.

The Role of Physical Education in Preventing Unhealthy Lifestyles in Immigrant Adolescents

“…The most notorious are those more related to the dependent variable construct because of their conceptual proximity to both variables. Thus, the direct relationships between physical exercise (0.239) [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 16 ] and physical activity (0.205) [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] with sports stand out, the former being the most relevant of all the variables. This can be explained by the relationship between both manifestations of human motor activity, which results in a positive tendency among those who practise any ordered and systematised physical activity, entailing a step forward in the regulation and institutionalisation of human motor activity.…”

“…However, this work focuses only on studies on young immigrants, analysing the underlying dimensions of a healthy lifestyle—exercise, physical activity and nutrition, among others—and their effects on practising sports. This differentiation with respect to local students is made because the literature has already found that immigrants adopt unhealthier habits when they move to the destination country [ 15 ] and that these effects also impact their children, who end up having worse health and habits than their local counterparts [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. In this sense, it is important to mention that although the majority of studies found differences between locals and immigrants at different stages, some have found few or no differences in physical [ 11 ], physiological or behavioural [ 19 , 20 ] activity.…”

A Quasi-Experimental Study of the Effects of an Outdoor Learning Program on Physical Activity Patterns of Children with a Migrant Background: the PASE Study

“…First and foremost, it is important to prioritize support for the most vulnerable groups when promoting PA. A recent systematic review concluded that the immigration process is known to have a negative impact on youth PA. Thus, youth with a migrant background represent a group at risk of low PA (Lacoste et al, 2020). Language, socioeconomic status, and discrimination (Taverno et al, 2010) are factors that particularly hinder organized physical activity among youth with a migrant background, which might underlie the finding that the more recent the immigration, the less PA practiced by immigrant youth (Kukaswadia et al, 2014).…”

“…The two largest in terms of sample size (N = 361) are from the Danish TEACHOUT research project on Udeskole practices (Schneller, Duncan, et al, 2017;. None of these studies focused on students with a migrant background, a group that is less active and spends less time outdoors (Conrad et al, 2013;Lacoste et al, 2020). Furthermore, they all come from Scandinavia or Finland, regions known to be at the forefront of outdoor learning practices.…”

Nationality as an Influential Variable with Regard to the Social Skills and Academic Success of Immigrant Students

“…Agreeing with this, ref. [110] indicates that immigrant students present lower academic measures when suffering from the impact of adaptation to a new context. Their integration in the host country significantly affects the development of these skills [111].…”