Nutrition, activity behavior and body constitution in primary school children
Journal Title: Biology of Sport - Year 2009, Vol 26, Issue 4
Abstract
Child and adolescent obesity currently affects at least 10-25% of the paediatric population in most developed countries. The BMI value is one of the most appropriate method of defining obesity and has a strong association with body fatness and health risk. Two main environmental factors, nutrition and physical activity, could influence paediatric obesity development. This paper studies the relationship between sedentariness, snack and soft drink intake and overweight or obesity in children. 1194 primary school children (age 8-10) participated in the study. For all the subjects we measured the anthropometric data to calculate the BMI. The overweight and obesity prevalence was estimated using age-specific BMI cutoffs. A questionaire was also submitted to all the children by a single interviewer to obtain data about: a) Weekly Physical Activity, b) Weekly Sedentary Activity, c) Alimentary Style. Spearman rank correlation and the Student’s t-test were used. The data demonstrated that 23.2% of the children is overweight and the 4.8% obese. BMI is inversely correlated to the physical activity, while there is positive correlation between BMI and number of double portions. Statistically significant positive correlation is present among eating snacks and hours of sedentariness, while there is a negative correlation between physical activity and TV hours. Physical activity in the childhood could be an important tool to prevent obesity development and adult-onset chronic diseases. It is important to encourage an active lifestyle in order to reduce sedentariness.
Authors and Affiliations
F Carandente, E Roveda, A Montaruli, G Pizzini
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP58982
- DOI -
- Views 113
- Downloads 0
Relationship between achievement motivation, trait anxiety and self-esteem
The purpose of present study was to investigate relationship between achievement motivation, trait anxiety, and self-esteem. Furthermore, secondary aim of study was to determine achievement motivation, trait anxiety and...
Physiological responses to graded exercise test in youths with spastic tetraplegia subjected to upper extremity training
The aim of the study was to assess the effects of exercise therapy of moderate intensity on cardiorespiratory functions in youths suffering from tetraplegia in cerebral palsy. Eight schoolboys, aged 17.50.3 years, suffe...
Effects of exercise on the markers of iron status in serum of cross-country skiers
The study aim was to assess the within-subject, day-to-day variability for ferritin and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) concentrations in serum of 6 female and 8 male cross-country skiers aged 16-18 years under a reg...
ACUTE EXERCISE-INDUCED MUSCLE INJURY
While much research has recently been focussing on the chronic effects of overtraining, the acute damaging effects of individual eccentric exercise bouts on muscle remain of interest and underlie long-term training effec...
Application of the allometric scale for the submaximal oxygen uptake in runners and rowers
Background: The aim of the current study was to determine the allometric exponents for runners and rower’s metabolic cost, while also verifying the relation of performance with and without the allometric application. Met...