Correlates of Physical Activity, Psychosocial Factors, and Home Environment Exposure among U.S. Adolescents: Insights for Cancer Risk Reduction from the FLASHE Study

Abstract

Background and aims: Physical activity (PA) can bring numerous health benefits to adolescents and can largely aid in reducing the various types of cancer risks in their lifespans. However, few adolescents meet the physical activity guidelines recommended by the National Cancer Institute in the United States. Our study aimed to examine the multilevel determinants potentially influencing adolescent’s PA participation. Methods: A secondary analysis of physical activity, home and school neighborhood, and other psychosocial data from 1504 dyads of adolescents and their parents who participated in the 2014 Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) study was performed. Analysis of variance and general linear model analyses were used to examine the correlates. Results: General linear modeling revealed that younger adolescents participated in greater levels of PA than older adolescents (p < 0.001). Adolescents whose parents reported meeting PA guidelines participated in greater amounts of PA (p < 0.001). Parental support of adolescent PA (p < 0.001) was also predictive of adolescent PA levels. Furthermore, parents who reported meeting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) guidelines were more likely to have teenagers that engaged in higher amounts of PA (p < 0.001). Discussion and Conclusions: Our findings imply a dynamic relationship between adolescent and parent MVPA levels. Interventions focused on increasing parental MVPA and encouraging parents to engage in promoting PA are merited in order to aid in increasing PA among adolescents while reducing the cancer risk.