Associations Between Physical Activity and Overweight Among U.S. Youth by Immigrant Generation: Results From the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health

Background: This study examines relations between parent and youth physical activity (PA; days per week), sports participation, and overweight (BMI ≥ 85th percentile) among U.S. youth, and whether this relationship varies by immigrant generation and sex. Methods: Participants included 28,691 youth ages 10–17 years from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health. Youth were grouped into first, second, and third or higher genera-tion. Primary analyses include Chi-square and post hoc tests to assess mean differences, and adjusted logistic regressions to test associations between weight status and independent variables. Results: Each additional day youth participated in PA decreased their odds of overweight (OW) by 10 % [OR: 0.90 (0.87–0.94)]; participa-tion in sports significantly reduced their odds of OW by 17 % [OR: 0.83 (0.71–0.98)]. First generation boys who participated in sports had 70 % lower odds of OW [OR: 0.30 (0.11–0.83)] compared with first generation boys who did not participate in sports. For third generation girls, participation in sports reduced the odds of OW by 23 % [OR: 0.77 (0.62–0.96)] compared with those who did not participate in sports. Conclusion: The protective influence of PA on youth’s risk of OW varies by immigrant generation and sex. Parent PA was not related to youth’s risk of OW