The Relationship Between Children's Physical Activity and Family Income in Rural Settings: A Cross-sectional Study

Objective: To examine potential differences in children's physical activity and parent support of their children's physical activity based on family income within the rural setting.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 566 parents of children (5-15 years-old; mean = 7.7 years; standard deviation = 2.4) living in rural West Virginia from 2010 to 2011 was conducted. Children were recruited and had participated in a school-based health screening program.

Results: Overall, parents from a rural setting reported that their children engaged in an average of five days of physical activity for at least 60 min. Upon closer examination, children from lower-income families engaged in more physical activity, on average, than children from higher income families per parent report (mean = 6.6 days, confidence interval 95% = 4.9-6.0 vs. middle-income mean = 5.0, confidence interval 95% = 4.4-5.3 and highest-income mean = 4.5, confidence interval 95% = 4.1-4.7; p = .01). Rural parents supported their children's physical activity in numerous ways. Parents with the lowest incomes were more likely than parents from higher income families to encourage their children to be active and use their immediate environment for play and to be directly involved in physical activity with their children. More affluent parents were more likely to transport their children to other activity opportunities than parents from the lower income brackets.

Conclusions: Lower income families may utilize their immediate environment and encourage activity among their children whereas more affluent families focus on organized opportunity more often than lower income families. These findings emphasize the need to conceptualize the role family income plays in physical activity patterns and the potential benefit it provides to some families.