Ziegeldorf Alexandra, Niermann Christina, Speer Andreas, Streicher Heike, Wagner Petra, Wulff Hagen
Faculty of Sport Science, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
Institute of Interdisciplinary Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Front Sports Act Living. 2025 Jun 9;7:1537854. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1537854. eCollection 2025.
Despite the well-known health benefits of physical activity, 81% of adolescents are physically inactive. Overall, studies showed that physical activity decreases with age during childhood and from childhood to adolescence. However, physical activity does not change uniformly for all children, the changes differ inter-individually. There are several studies that examine correlates and predictors of different patterns of change. However, studies focusing on family environmental factors are rare. The current study examines the relevance of two types of family environmental influences-parents' educational level and the Physical activity related Family Health Climate-for physical activity change patterns from first to fourth grade in primary school.
Longitudinal data sets from the KOMPASS(2) study ( = 497) were used for analyses. Parents' educational level, Family Health Climate and children's overall physical activity as well as their engagement in organized sports were measured using parent questionnaires. Four groups were formed to map patterns of change for both children's overall physical activity and for their engagement in organized sports (1st to 4th grade): (1) no/not enough engagement at both time points, (2) a change from no/not enough engagement to (enough) engagement, (3) a change from (enough) engagement to no/not (enough) engagement and (4) (enough) engagement at both time points. Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression.
More than half of the children (53.5%) were in the pattern "continuously insufficient physical activity", with a higher proportion of girls. For participation in organized sport, most children (56.1%) were assigned to the "continuous organized sport" pattern of change. Results showed differences in overall physical activity patterns according to parents' educational level and children's sex. Girls and children with highly educated mothers had an increased risk of being continuously physically inactive over the course of primary school. Organized sport patterns are related to parents' educational level and Family Health Climate. Children with higher educated parents and a higher Family Health Climate score had a lower risk of not being active in organized sport.
The study investigated characteristics of different patterns of physical activity change from 1st to 4th grade during primary school. It highlights the importance of differentiating between different types of physical activity as children's sex, parents' educational level and the Family Health Climate predicted overall physical activity and organized sports participation in different ways. This is the first study focusing on change patterns during primary school and stresses previous findings of an early decline of physical activity. The results indicate that the entry in the educational system might be a good time to start with interventions.
尽管体育活动对健康有益是众所周知的，但81%的青少年身体活动不足。总体而言，研究表明，在儿童时期以及从儿童期到青少年期，体育活动随着年龄的增长而减少。然而，并非所有儿童的体育活动变化都是一致的，个体之间存在差异。有几项研究探讨了不同变化模式的相关因素和预测因素。然而，关注家庭环境因素的研究很少。本研究考察了两种家庭环境影响因素——父母的教育水平以及与体育活动相关的家庭健康氛围——对小学一年级到四年级体育活动变化模式的相关性。
使用来自KOMPASS(2)研究的纵向数据集（n = 497）进行分析。通过家长问卷测量父母的教育水平、家庭健康氛围、儿童的总体体育活动以及他们参与有组织体育活动的情况。为描绘儿童总体体育活动及其参与有组织体育活动（一年级到四年级）的变化模式，形成了四组：(1) 两个时间点的参与度都不足，(2) 从不参与/参与不足转变为（足够的）参与，(3) 从（足够的）参与转变为不参与/参与不足，以及(4) 两个时间点都（足够的）参与。使用多项逻辑回归分析数据。
超过一半的儿童（53.5%）处于“体育活动持续不足”模式，女孩的比例更高。对于参与有组织的体育活动，大多数儿童（56.1%）被归为“持续参与有组织体育活动”的变化模式。结果显示，根据父母的教育水平和儿童的性别，总体体育活动模式存在差异。女孩以及母亲受教育程度高的儿童在小学期间持续身体活动不足的风险增加。有组织的体育活动模式与父母的教育水平和家庭健康氛围有关。父母受教育程度较高且家庭健康氛围得分较高的儿童参与有组织体育活动不活跃的风险较低。
本研究调查了小学一年级到四年级体育活动不同变化模式的特征。它强调了区分不同类型体育活动的重要性，因为儿童的性别、父母的教育水平和家庭健康氛围以不同方式预测总体体育活动和有组织体育活动的参与情况。这是第一项关注小学期间变化模式的研究，并强调了先前关于体育活动早期下降的研究结果。结果表明，进入教育系统可能是开始干预的好时机。
