Participation in a Mamanet Mothers` Cachiball League to Promote Health and Social Capital

Background: Much of the Israeli population does not exercise regularly and this lack of regular physical activity constitutes a risk factor for obesity and chronic illness (diabetes, heart and vascular diseases, cancer and more). Rates of women who engage in regular physical activity are especially low. Identifying ways to increase physical activity and healthy nutrition, as well as promote social norms of healthy lifestyles are central to improving the long-term health of the Israeli population in general and of women in particular.

In recent decades, researchers have linked high levels of social capital with more desirable health outcomes, as well as with economic, social, and emotional benefits. It has been theorized that these associations are mediated by healthier behavioral patterns among communities and individuals with higher social capital.

The Mamanet Cachiball League is a competitive sports framework for mothers of school-aged children, and currently boasts around 16,000 participants across Israel from a range of socio-demographic backgrounds. The current study explores the effects of Mamanet participation on participants` health behaviors and on that of their families, with a specific focus on social capital.

Aims: To examine measures of social capital, quality of life, and health behaviors among league participants as compared with the control group. To investigate changes in these measures among the participants’ families (versus control families). To determine whether the length of time of participation in the league is a significant factor in these changes.

Methods: Data were collected from 1,000 Mamanet participants, and from 300 controls, (mothers aged 30-50 who do not participate in Mamanet or in any other competitive sport). Family questionnaires were distributed to 70 families of Mamanet participants and to 84 families of controls.

Results: In the current cross-sectional survey, a strong association was found between participation in Mamanet, and in desirable measures of social capital, quality of life, and health behaviors. Longer participation in the league was associated with more positive measures across all three indices.

Discussion and Conclusions: This study has identified high levels of social capital among participants and their families. Additional prospective research is needed to examine the long-term effects of participation in the Mamanet league, as well as to establish causality between Mamanet participation and higher levels of social capital, quality of life, and healthy behaviors. Our ongoing study which includes matched repeated measures will enable us to get a better estimation of the causality of these associations.