Danish mothers of young children adhere less to international physical activity guidelines compared with mothers of older children

Abstract

Introduction

This study aimed to investigate if the prevalence proportion of non-adherence to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week varied among mothers based on the age of their youngest child. Additionally, the study aimed to investigate whether such association varied by parity.

Methods

The population-based design used self-reported physical activity data on 8774 Danish mothers who participated in the Danish National Health Survey 2021. The primary outcome was weekly hours of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, dichotomized into adherers or non-adherers to WHO guidelines.

Results

The prevalence proportions of non-adherence ranged from 60 % to 70 %. Significantly higher prevalence proportions of non-adherers were observed among mothers of infants and toddlers aged 0–3 years compared with mothers of school-age children. When stratified by parity, multipara mothers with infants aged 0–6 months reported the highest prevalence proportion (74 %) of non-adherence among all subgroups.

Conclusion

Due to the health benefits derived from adequate levels of physical activity, the large proportion of mothers not adhering to the WHO physical activity guidelines is a public health concern. The findings of the present study suggest a need for improving interventions and policies to enhance physical activity levels in mothers, especially mothers of infants and toddlers.