title: Physical activity and sport participation: A systematic review of the impact of fatherhood.
abstract: Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA), including sport participation, is an important component of a healthy lifestyle. Scholars have devoted considerable attention to understanding the impact of parenthood on MVPA, albeit only for women. As the impact of fatherhood on men's lives is drawing more and more scholarly and societal attention, the aim of the current article is to provide an systematic overview of studies examining the impact of fatherhood on MVPA. A systematic review was conducted in Google Scholar, Web of Science and Web of Knowledge, using (combinations of) the search terms: father(hood), parent(hood), exercise, physical activity, sport and leisure time. This resulted in 54 papers reporting differences in MVPA and/or sport between fathers and childless men or within men that became father, of which 13 were included. Our overview of findings suggested that fathers spent less time on MVPA compared with childless men, but that fathers did not differ from their childless counterparts on the subarea of sport participation. Differences in time spent on MVPA were strongest between childless men and fathers with young children (< 6 yrs). Our systematic review revealed that fathers spent less time on MVPA compared to childless men, especially when they had young children. Interestingly, linkages between parental status and the subarea of sport participation were not found, which suggests that fathers cut back on other areas of MVPA. Given the impact of MVPA on a healthy lifestyle, future research in this field is warranted.
authors.affiliation: School of Human Movement & Sports, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, Campus 2-6, 8017 CA Zwolle, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Niek
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pot
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Postbus 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 15804, 1001 NH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Renske
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Keizer
keywords: Exercise; Fatherhood; Parenthood; Physical activity; Sport