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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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