Family-engaged physical activity and employment background as a model for child physical activity among Mexican-heritage families.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family-engaged physical activity, parental employment background and children’s physical activity among Mexican-heritage populations. Promotoras (community health workers trained in research methods) administered surveys to (n=346) mothers to collect information on family-engaged physical activity, child physical activity and employment background. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between family-engaged physical activity frequency, parental employment and child physical activity frequency. Maternal employment was a significant predictor of child physical activity (OR=0.51; 90%CI=0.26, 1.00; p=0.10). Frequent family physical activity was positively associated with weekday physical activity for children, even after adjusting for paternal job status (OR=1.73; 90% CI=0.99, 3.01; p=0.08). Understanding the relationship between family physical activity and child physical activity may facilitate maintained engagement in physical activity programs for diverse cultural contexts.