Peer influence is a subject that many parents are familiar with. Negative peer pressure, that infamous influential factor, sometimes takes center stage when we discuss the ramifications of peer interactions. But, just as some friendships can influence children in a negative way, positive peer relationships are more common than we are often lead to believe. And, more importantly, they can be a key protective factor in school aged children. A recent study from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Tennessee looked at just that.

The study’s results determined that friendship ties play a critical role in setting physical activity patterns in children as young as 5 to 12 years. The researchers studied 81 public school students, who went to after-school programs.

Over the course of the study, Dr. Sabina Gesell and her colleagues found that kids didn’t make or break friendships based on how active they were compared to other students. For example, when kids made new friends who were more or less active, they tended to change their own activity level accordingly. And, of course, not all of the results were positive. Some kids’ activity levels got pulled up by their immediate friends, but others got pulled down. The results are also in line with research that’s been done with teens and adults, who tend to look like the rest of their friend group in terms of weight and fitness level.

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(Source: www.bccf.ca )