Abstract
Objectives
Physical activity is holistically linked to culture and wellbeing among Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the First Nation Peoples of Australia. Socioecological
correlates of high physical activity among Indigenous children include living in a
remote area and low screen time but little is known about early life determinants
of physical activity. This paper examines sociodemographic, family, community, cultural,
parent social and emotional wellbeing determinants of physical activity among Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander children.
Design
Longitudinal cohort study.
Methods
The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, the largest First Nations child cohort
study in the world, primarily collects data through parental report. Multiple logistic
regression analyses examined Wave 1 (age 0–5 years) predictors of achieving ≥1 h/day
of physical activity at Wave 9 (aged 8–13 years).
Results
Of the 1181 children, 596 (50.5 %) achieved ≥1 h of physical activity every day. Achieving
≥1 h/day of physical activity at Wave 9 was associated with the following Wave 1 determinants:
high parent social and emotional wellbeing (resilience; adjusted odds ratio 1.87 (95 %
confidence interval: 1.32–2.65)), living in remote (odds ratio 3.66 (2.42–5.54)),
regional (odds ratio 2.98 (2.13–4.18)) or low socioeconomic areas (odds ratio 1.85
(1.08–3.17)), main source of family income not wages/salaries (odds ratio 0.66 (0.46–0.97)),
and if families played electronic games (odds ratio 0.72 (0.55–0.94)).
Conclusions
To achieve high physical activity levels among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children, high parental culture specific social and emotional wellbeing and low family
screen time in early life may compensate for apparently low socio-economic circumstances,
including living in remote areas.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 15, 2022
Accepted:
September 14,
2022
Received in revised form:
August 30,
2022
Received:
December 26,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
