ABSTRACT
Several investigators have expressed concern that the levels of physical activity (PA) in children may be too low, even to the extent that this is detrimental to health[1-2]. Furthermore, PA in early childhood may be tracking to more mature ages[3]. Previous studies in Estonia have indicated, consistent with studies in other countries, that preadolescent children spend most of their day in sedentary activities[4]. Among the various variables which influence the level of habitual physical activity (HPA) in adults, personality factors, coping strategies and motivation seem to affect exercise adherence [5, 6]. Enduring personality characteristics of children appear not to influence strongly their PA[6], but there is little information concerning the related family influence. Indeed, concern has been expressed that the sedentary lifestyle that many of today’s adults have adopted has spilled over to the lives of their children[3], and family aggregation in PA has been reported[7], but the mediating factors of sedentary lifestyle still need to be identified. Physically active parents have physically more active young children, but there are multiple possible explanations for this[8]. For example, even though it is frequently hypothesized that significant others act as role models for exercising, little evidence supports this assumption directly. It has been shown that the child’s perception of parental exercise is not associated with their own habits[9]. Neither do parental attitudes toward exercise determine children’s activity levels[10]. We have attempted to test the hypothesis that certain personality characteristics of parents may be associated with their children’s lifestyle with regard to PA.
