Physical Fitness and Birth Weight in Young Men From Maputo City, Mozambique

Abstract

Introduction: Birth weight has been considered an important marker of the nutritional transition in developing countries. Objective: To evaluate the influence of birth weight on body composition and physical fitness of young men born in Maputo, Mozambique. Methods: One hundred and seventy-nine students (aged 19 to 22 years) were divided into four groups (low birth weight < 2.500 g, LBW, n = 49; insufficient birth weight ≥ 2.500 g and < 3.000 g, IBW, n = 27; normal birth weight ≥ 3.000 g and < 3.999 g, NBW, n = 74; and high birth weight > 3.999 g, HBW, n = 31). Anthropometry and body composition were measured. Physical fitness was assessed by handgrip strength, muscle endurance, flexibility, agility, and running speed. Results: IBW showed lower values of body mass and fat free mass while LBW and HBW had high values of hip circumference, suprailiac, subscapular and abdominal skinfold when compared to NBW. LBW and HBW showed a high percentage of individuals with low performance in flexibility, right handgrip, agility, abdominal resistance, arms strength, and horizontal long jump. Around 70% of HBW showed low performance in the running speed test. Conclusion: Both low and high birth weight can influence adult adiposity and the performance in physical fitness tests.

Influence of preterm birth on physical fitness in early childhood

“…Controversy also exists for the effect of prematurity on balance (Eshaghi et al, 2015; Rodríguez Fernández et al, 2016). Moreover, although we found an impaired agility in the children born preterm, Tchamo et al found no detrimental effects of low birth weight in this outcome (Tchamo et al, 2016). Future research should therefore confirm whether prematurity exerts detrimental effects on different fitness outcomes, although given the lower muscle mass associated with prematurity (Bortolotto et al, 2021; Ortega et al, 2009; Van Deutekom et al, 2015) or the fact that an important proportion of preterm children show neuromotor abnormalities during infance such as abnormal muscle tone (Behrman & Butller, 2007), there is mechanistic support for these impairments.…”

“…Some studies have also observed an impairment in different physical fitness indicators such as muscle strength (Svien, 2003), balance (Eshaghi et al, 2015), or speed (Robič Pikel et al, 2017) in preterm individuals. However, other studies have found no negative effects of prematurityor low birth weight, which usually occurs concomitantly with prematurityon cardiorespiratory fitness (Ruf et al, 2019), balance (Rodríguez Fernández et al, 2016) or agility (Tchamo et al, 2016). Moreover, scarce or no evidence exists on whether the negative effects of prematurity on physical fitness are already visible since early childhood.…”

Relationship between aerobic capacity with Birth Weight and breastfeeding patterns in children: A cross-sectional study

“…However, their relationship with physical abilities is still uncertain. Lower muscle strength values have been shown in those born with a low Birth Weight [9,10]. However, when the Birth Weight was adjusted according to the infant's growth, this association was not observed [11].…”

“…Aerobic capacity may be influenced by early-onset eating patterns [16,17], however these findings are still controversial [6]. Several studies have sought to elucidate the relationship between Birth Weight and the physical capacities of children [8,9,[10][11][12][13]18,19]. However, in addition to the metabolic, muscular [20] and functional [18] disorders caused by Low Birth Weight (LBW), these children still appear to be less active in their free time [12], which may justify the low aerobic capacity values observed.…”

Deficits in anthropometric indices of nutritional status and motor performance among low birth weight children from Maputo City, Mozambique

“…Indeed, we observed that there were no differences in all fatness skinfold thickness between groups. A recent study showed that LBW influenced negatively the body weight and fat free mass in young men (19 to 21 years old) from Maputo city, Mozambique (Tchamo et al, 2016a). Deprived early growth combined with high food consumption and inactive life style during childhood and an obesogenic adult environment are the main concerns of low-middle income countries where exist the transitions to westernized lifestyles and the risk of low birth weight (Wells, 2012).…”