Parental relationships and children's health behaviors: An examination of baseline data from the Texas Grow! Eat! Go! program

Date

8/27/2019

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Abstract

This research study used secondary, baseline data that was collected as part of the Texas Grow! Eat! Go! (TGEG) program. The data was collected from 1,369 third-grade students and 1,206 parents or caregivers. The survey questions were derived from the School Physical Activity Nutrition Survey, the Marathon Kids Survey, and the GIMME5 Survey, with additional survey questions developed by the TGEG research team. Specific measures were identified for the independent variables of parental role modeling, parental confidence, and the engagement of parents and children in activities related to a healthy lifestyle. The dependent variables of children’s physical activity and children’s healthy eating behaviors were chosen for this study. Because the data was non-parametric, Spearman’s Correlation was the statistical analysis used. The findings of this study indicated that no statistically significant relationship was found between the independent and dependent variables. Because children’s health is an important topic, further examining these variables is beneficial to guide parents when it comes to children and health related behaviors. It will also provide valuable information to health professionals and child development specialist to aid them in addressing the issue of childhood obesity.

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Keywords

Parenting, Role modeling, Physical activity, Healthy eating behaviors, Parent confidence, Childhood obesity

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