Suvi Määttä

Associations of parental influence and 10–11-year-old children’s physical activity: Are they mediated by children’s perceived competence and attraction to physical activity?:

Aims: This cross-sectional study had two aims: firstly, to study the associations of parental influence in the form of encouragement, father and mother modelling and involvement on children’s physical activity (PA), and secondly, to study the mediation effect of encouragement, father and mother modelling and involvement on children’s PA through children’s perceived competence and attraction to PA. Methods: A total of 1278 children (response rate 79%), aged 10–11 years, participated in the study in the autumn of 2006. Of these children, 883 children completed all the data in a questionnaire assessing their self-reported PA, perceived competence, attraction to PA, and perceived parental influence. The associations were examined by multiple mediator analyses with bootstrapping method. All the models were adjusted with gender and grade. Results: The analyses pointed out that father modelling had a direct effect on children’s physical activity, whereas encouragement, mother modelling, and involvement had an indirect effect through perceived competence and attraction to physical activity on children’s physical activity. The strongest indirect association was formed from encouragement through attraction to physical activity to children’s physical activity. Conclusions: The results show that parents influence on children’s physical activity in a variety of ways. Parents influence their children’s physical activity in direct and indirect manners through their encouragement, involvement and modelling. Furthermore, mother and father influence their children’s physical activity in different ways. This versatility should be taken into consideration in future interventions.

Increased health and well-being in preschools (DAGIS): rationale and design for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundEffective interventions that target socioeconomic status (SES) differences to avoid the potential widening of inequalities in health are needed. Children at preschool age is a valuable intervention target since sedentary behaviors, physical activity (PA), dietary behaviors, and sleep habits, jointly called the energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs), are established in early childhood and tend to persist later in life. The interventions are most effective, when they focus on evidence-based factors. One potential factor associated with EBRBs and SES is children’s stress regulation, which receives special attention in this study. Based on the socioecological approach, the combinations of multiple levels (e.g. individual, environmental, societal) of analysis and diverse methodologies (e.g. surveys, observations, biological measurements) are used to assess the healthfulness of environments (e.g. social, physical, learning, policy) in preschool and family settings. The intervention aimed to diminish SES differences in EBRBs is then conducted in the preschool setting.Methods/designThe DAGIS study is divided into two phases. The first phase comprises focus group interviews and a cross-sectional survey. Parents and preschool personnel in low SES neighborhoods participated in interviews about children’s sedentary behaviors, dietary behaviors, and PA in 2014. In the cross-sectional survey beginning in autumn 2015, preschools will be recruited from a random sample of preschools in 3–5 municipalities in Southern Finland. A total of 800 children will wear an accelerometer for seven days. Children’s hair and saliva samples will be taken. Parents and preschool personnel will complete questionnaires on EBRBs, social and physical environments and SES factors. The quality of preschool environment is also observed. In the second phase, an intervention targeting to narrowing SES differences in EBRBs is conducted. The effects of the intervention will be evaluated in randomised controlled trial. The implementation of the intervention will also be evaluated.ConclusionIf effective, this unique preschool-based study will be able to narrow the SES differences in preschool children’s EBRBs. This study is anticipated to identify the most important modifiable factors in preschool and family environmental settings associated with children’s EBRBs, especially in children from low SES backgrounds.Trial registrationISRCTN57165350 (January, 8th, 2015).

Influencing factors of children's fruit, vegetable and sugar-enriched food intake in a Finnish preschool setting – Preschool personnel's perceptions

INTRODUCTION A large proportion of young children spend most of their weekdays at preschool in Western countries. In Finland, three meals are included in a full day at preschool. These meals have the potential to promote healthy eating. This study aimed to obtain the personnels (preschool teachers, day-care nurses) views on the factors influencing childrens fruit, vegetable, and sugar-enriched food intake at preschool. STUDY DESIGN Four focus groups, in all 14 preschool personnel. Two researchers independently analysed the data using a socio-ecological framework. RESULTS At the child level, age, peers, and the childs personality were recognized as factors influencing the fruit and vegetable (FV) and sugar-enriched food intake. At the preschool level, both the physical and social environments were discussed thoroughly, whereas at the societal level, policies of the EU, the state, and the municipality were mentioned as factors that influence what children eat in preschool. The personnel also discussed the interactions between factors both between levels and within levels. CONCLUSIONS In Finnish preschools, childrens food intake is influenced on and within several levels of the socio-ecological model. The identification of the factors influencing food intake allows different methods of intervention at multiple levels to promote healthy eating behaviours in preschools.

Preschool children’s context-specific sedentary behaviours and parental socioeconomic status in Finland: a cross-sectional study

Objectives This study examined the associations of parental socioeconomic status (SES) with preschoolers’ objectively measured sedentary time (SED) over the course of a week and with parent-reported children’s screen and reading times at home as indicators of sedentary behaviours (SB). Design Cross-sectional. Setting In years 2015 and 2016 in Finland. Participants 864 children, aged 3–6 years, with their parents. Outcome measures Children’s accelerometer data were transformed into average SED minutes per hour in different contexts (preschool, home during preschool days, weekend and total). Parent-reported children’s screen and reading times were expressed as average daily minutes. The SES indicators (maternal and paternal education and relative household income) were grouped into three categories. Linear or logistic regression analyses were used, with municipality, season, and children’s gender and age as covariates. CIs were adjusted for clustering at the preschool group level. Results Children with low maternal (β=17.21, 95% CI: 8.71 to 25.71) and paternal (β=10.54, 95% CI: 0.77 to 20.30) education had more overall screen time at home than their more advantaged counterparts. SES differences in overall screen time were mostly explained by TV viewing. Children with low as opposed to high maternal education (β=−2.66, 95% CI: −4.95 to –0.38) had less reading time at home. Children whose fathers were on the middle (β=−1.15, 95% CI: −2.01 to –0.29) educational level had less weekend SED than those with high paternal education. Otherwise, parental SES was not related to objectively measured SED. Conclusions The results of this study highlight the fact that the associations between parental SES and preschoolers’ SB are dependent on the indicators of SES and SBs, and vary between different contexts. Generally, parental SES was not associated with SED, whereas some SES differences existed in screen time and reading time at home. Interventions aiming to diminish SES differences in children’s SB should focus on home hours. Trial registration number ISRCTN57165350.

Parental Education and Pre-School Children’s Objectively Measured Sedentary Time: The Role of Co-Participation in Physical Activity

Parental co-participation in physical activity (PA) may be a beneficial parenting practice for diminishing children’s sedentary time (ST). Less information is available, however, on the explanatory role of co-participation in PA regarding parental educational differences in children’s ST. Preschool-aged children (N = 864, mean age 4.8, 52% boys) with their parents participated in a cross-sectional DAGIS (Increased Health and Wellbeing in Pre-schools) study between years 2015 and 2016. Children (N = 821) wore an accelerometer for one week. Parents were informed of their educational background, and the frequency of visits with their child in nature, to parks or playgrounds, their own yard, and indoor sport facilities (N = 808). Testing the associations required multiple regression analyses. Parents with a low educational background reported more frequent visits with their child to their own yard, and these visits were associated with children’s lower ST. More highly educated parents co-visited indoor sport facilities more frequently, although this did not have a significant association with children’s ST. More frequent visits in nature were associated with a lower ST at weekdays, regardless of educational background. Future health promotion strategies should inform parents that frequent co-participation in PA, for example, in one’s own yard, is beneficial for lowering children’s ST.

Reproducibility of Preschool Personnel and Guardian Reports on Energy Balance-Related Behaviors and Their Correlates in Finnish Preschool Children

Valid and reliable non-objective assessments of guardian and preschool personnel reports are necessary when estimating young children’s health behaviors. This study examines the test-retest reproducibility of (a) guardian and preschool personnel questionnaires about correlates of preschool-aged children’s energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs), (b) a screen time diary, and (c) a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) reported by a guardian. A sample of guardians having preschool-aged children (N = 69) and preschool personnel (N = 61) completed questionnaires twice within a five-week time interval during April–May 2018 in Finland. Intra-class correlations (ICC), kappas, and percentage agreement were calculated to test the test-retest-reproducibility. The guardian questionnaire for correlates of the children’s EBRBs demonstrated mainly moderate to good reproducibility whereas the preschool personnel questionnaire of preschool correlates for children’s EBRBs was mostly good. The reproducibility of the screen time diary was good and FFQ food items showed mostly moderate reproducibility. The reproducibility of the FFQ foods items for vegetables, fruit, and berries was slightly better for the amount consumed than for the frequency of consumption. To conclude, all the instruments are acceptable for use in future studies.