Latino preschool-aged children face disproportionately higher risk of childhood obesity than children of other ethnic groups. The aim of this study was to investigate environmental and psychosocial determinants of physical inactivity for this ethnic group as a way to provide direction for interventions and policies addressing this concern. Two related objectives guided the direction of the study: (1) to examine differences in physical activity and sedentary behavior across different types of locations in Latino preschool-aged children, and (2) to determine whether the differences in physical activity by location were greater in children of parents with higher neighborhood safety concerns and parenting practices supporting physical activity.
This study was conducted in Houston, Texas, a region with a large proportion of Hispanic or Latino population. A group of 73 Latino children (aged 3-5) and one of their parents participated in the study.
The children wore Global Positioning Systems (GPS) units and accelerometers for at least 8 hours per day over a period of a week. The GPS units provided objective information about time spent outdoors/indoors and geographic locations, which were then coded into location types (business, service, park, etc.). The accelerometers provided objective information about time spent in sedentary behavior and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Parent-completed surveys provided information about parenting practices relating to physical activity, perceived neighborhood safety, and family demographics. “Parenting practices” addressed what parents did to encourage or discourage physical activity, promote or limit screen time, and manipulate child behavior to satisfy the parents' needs. “Parenting practices” also addressed restrictions they placed on physical activity based on safety concerns.
Results indicated that the odds of children engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were 43% higher when outdoors than indoors, and the odds of being sedentary were 14% lower when outdoors compared to indoors. Children were most active in parks/playgrounds and least active in childcare/school settings. Yet, only one in five children visited a park or playground during the 7-day study period.
This study also found that differences in levels of children's activity between outdoor and indoor settings were smaller if parents had less favorable perceptions regarding neighborhood safety and if they used parenting practices that discouraged children's physical activity. These findings suggest that built and social environmental factors interact to shape Latino preschool-aged children's physical activity and sedentary behavior.
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