WSPAJ Vol. 20, No. 1 Winter 2011 3 author Original Research Article Maternal Physical-Activity-Related Parenting Behaviors May Influence Children’s Physical Activity Levels and Relative Weight Richard R. Rosenkranz, Kansas State University & University of Western Sydney David A. Dzewaltowski, Kansas State University Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated that parents may influence the physical activity (PA) levels of children. The present study sought to determine whether PA-related parenting behaviors were associated with the physical activity and relative weight of children, controlling for other covariates. A community sample of mothers (n = 193) of after-school-program attendees completed questionnaires assessing parental social support for PA, sedentary behavior, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activ- ity. Children (N = 193, 51% girls) were objectively assessed for height and weight via stadiometer and digital scale, and the data were converted to body mass index (BMI) percentile via Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2010a) growth charts. Linear regression analysis revealed that maternal encouragement for child PA was positively related to both child PA and BMI percentile. However, mother-child shared physical activity was negatively related to child BMI percentile. Therefore, varying types of PA-related parenting behaviors may have differential relationships with child PA and relative weight. CONTACT INFORMATION: Ric Rosenkranz, Ph.D. University of Western Sydney Locked Bag 1797 Penrith, NSW, 2751 E–mail: r.rosenkranz@uws.edu.au Phone: +61 02 4620 3625 Current recommendations indicate that children should attain 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (PA) per day (Strong et al., 2005). Many children do not get sufficient amounts of PA (Troiano et al., 2008), and may therefore be more vulnerable to negative health outcomes, including overweight and obesity (Anderson & Butcher, 2006). According to recent surveillance data (Ogden et al., 2008), 33.6% of U.S. kids ages two to 19 are overweight or obese (85th percentile or higher on weight relative to height, adjusted for age and gender), and 17.1% are obese (95th percentile or higher). Among the potential determinants of children’s PA levels and weight status, parents emerge as an important influence (Golan & Crow, 2004; Gustafson & Rhodes, 2006; Trost et al., 2003). Recent sur-