The relationship between the body mass index and daily activity of children and their parents

Abstract

Boys accumulate thousands of more steps per school year than girls equating to hundreds of miles. As well, girls averaged a higher obesity level than boys, while female parents were much less physically active than male parents during the weekdays. Since female parents are role models to their daughters, and as the female parent's BMI increases, their child's BMI is likely to increase, immediate attention must be given to the overweight and obese girls and their mothers. Excellent programs need to be developed and implemented where children and parents can be physically active together in an urban environment. Parents of elementary aged children should receive more information on the importance of regular, daily physical activity for their child. The parents should be encouraged to participate in the physical activities with their child whereby both parent and child together would be reaping the benefits of an active lifestyle. Increasing physical education duration and frequency can have a substantial positive impact on helping overweight and obese children become more physically active, which will help alleviate the obesity problem faced by so many children today.