• Posted September 10, 2025

Inactive Parents Tend To Have Couch Potato Kids

Kids are more likely to become couch potatoes — or enthusiastically active — based on what they see their parents doing day-to-day, a new study says.

The example set by moms and dads appears to contribute to sedentary or active behavior in their children, researchers report in the journal Sports Medicine and Health Science.

“Parents’ level of physical activity can directly influence their children’s habits,” said senior researcher Diego Christofaro, a professor in the Department of Sport Sciences at São Paulo State University in Brazil.

“In other words, when parents maintain a more active routine, their children are less likely to remain seated for long periods,” he said in a news release.

For the study, researchers tracked the physical movement of 182 6- to 17-year-olds for one week, as well as 161 moms and 136 dads.

Results showed that children of inactive parents tended to be more sedentary. The reverse was also true — active moms and dads had kids who followed suit.

Mothers tended to have more influence over their kid’s physical activity than fathers, researchers found. In fact, moms’ influence was more than twice that of dads.

These results held even after they were adjusted for other factors like the family’s socioeconomic status, parents’ education and the children’s sex and age.

Physically active or sports-minded parents likely understand the benefits of exercise and encourage their children, researchers said in their paper.

They also might be more likely to limit screen time and support activity by taking their kids to the park or paying for sports equipment, backyard swings and other active games or toys, researchers speculated.

“Sedentary habits are the result of multiple factors, such as lack of access, time, and places where physical activity can be practiced,” Christofaro said.

“However, our study shows that parents’ habits can affect their children’s health,” he continued. “Therefore, we believe that these results can support public policies and campaigns aimed at promoting a more active lifestyle in the family environment.”

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more on encouraging physical activity among children.

SOURCES: São Paulo State University, news release, Sept. 4, 2025; Sports Medicine and Health Science, online, June 2025