Physical Activity Environments and Adherence to Health Guidelines in Postsecondary Students

Sedentary lifestyle is one of the greatest contributors to global mortality. From a public health perspective, identifying modifiable factors that reduce sedentary is important. The objective is to examine associations between postsecondary students’ physical activity environments, including joint physical activity with parents during childhood, engagement in physical activity during adolescence, current parental physical activity, and adherence to screen time and physical activity recommendations during young adulthood. We used a community-based sample of 1,514 Canadian students, aged 17-22 years (60.8% female) enrolled during Fall 2021 and Winter 2022. Participants reported joint physical activity with parents during childhood, engagement in physical activity during adolescence, and current parental physical activity. Participants also self-reported screen time (hours/day), physical activity (minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity/week), and sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, disability, employment status). Multivariate logistic regressions modeled associations between physical activity environments and adherence to screen time and physical activity recommendations while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Engagement in physical activity during adolescence showed a stronger relation with adherence to screen time and physical activity recommendations (odds ratio = 1.42, 95% CI, 1.09-1.83; odds ratio = 2.76, 95% CI, 2.11-3.60). Parental involvement in childhood physical activity was associated with adherence to screen time (odds ratio = 1.30, 95% CI, 1.03–1.64) and physical activity recommendations (odds ratio = 1.32, 95% CI, 1.03–1.68). There were no associations with current parental physical activity. Findings highlight the importance of family support for physical activity during childhood and continued activity during adolescence in promoting health.