Correlates of Physical Activity and Inactivity
More attention has been given to potential correlates of physical activity than to
correlates of physical inactivity. This may be due to the fact that many actual and
potential sources of physical inactivity are highly valued by societies the world
over. These include school attendance and associated activities (time studying and
reading), music and art, church attendance, and motorized transport, among other
activities.
Two systematic reviews of correlates of physical activity (Sallis et al. 2000 ; Van
der Horst et al. 2007 ) highlight a variety of factors which were associated with and
by inference which influenced physical activity among children and adolescents.
The age range comprising children (4–12 years), however, was too broad as it
spans early and middle childhood and the years of the pubertal transition (see
below); the age range for adolescents in both reviews was 13–18 years. Though
arbitrary, the age ranges are influenced by age spans considered in available studies
and are likely a matter of convenience. Another review considered correlates of
activity among children and early adolescents (Gustafson and Rhodes 2006 ). More
recently, correlates of physical activity identified in several other systematic
reviews dealing with children and adolescents have been summarized (Bauman
et al. 2012 ).
Potential correlates of physical activity included sociodemographic factors (age,
sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status); specific beliefs, motives, and behaviors
(achievement orientations, self-determined motivations, intention to be active,
perceived competence, etc.); parental behaviors and characteristics; peer support;
facilities and program access; and previous activity and community sports; among
others.
Although parental characteristics and behaviors are included among the corre-
lates, genetic factors are not considered in the systematic reviews. Biological par-
ents and their children are related genetically. Family and twin studies show
familial aggregation of physical activity and related traits, which suggests potential
influence of genotypic, common environmental and/or the interaction of both fac-
tors (Bouchard et al. 1997 ; Teran-Garcia et al. 2008 ).
Except for the BMI, other potential biological correlates of activity, specifically
growth and maturity status, were not considered in the reviews. The BMI was
negatively related to physical activity in more than one-half of studies of children
4 – 12 years, but was unrelated to PA in the remaining studies. Of interest, parental
overweight/obesity was positively related to activity in four studies of children.
Among adolescents 13–18 years, the BMI was negatively related to activity in less
than half studies, but was unrelated to activity in the remaining studies (Sallis et al.
2000 ). The status of the BMI as a correlate of physical activity is inconclusive.
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