Are children of today less active than before and is their health in danger? What can we do?

Andersen, Lars Bo; Mechelen, Willem van

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2005.00488.x

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(10 reference statements)

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“…The increasing prevalence of childhood obesity is attributed to a behavior modification during the last few years due, mainly, to a shift to more caloric intake, associated also with a decrease in the time spent on physical activity (Andersen & Mechelen, 2005). The present results reported that OW/OB children practice less SS than NW children and they are in accordance with the results found by other authors (Eisenmann, DuBose & Donnelly, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

How Important is Focalizing on a Healthier Lunch at School?

Serra-Payá

Ensenyat

Serra-Paya

et al. 2015

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences

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The aim is to assess the differences in frequency of school lunches, the adherence to the Mediterranean diet, sport practice and the parents' educational level in school-age children according to their weight status. 352 school-age children recruited from schools in Catalonia participated (11.99 ± 1.5 years). Body weight status groups were grouped as follows: overweight and obese (OW/OB; n=175) versus normal weight (NW(Normal Weight); n=177). The percentage of NW children who had school lunches on weekdays was significantly (p <0.001) higher than the percentage of peer children with OW/OB. The percentage of OW/OB(Overweight and Obese) children who reported to practice structured sport was significantly lower (p<0.05) than in the NW children group and the mean time spent on it as well (2.05 ± 2.36 vs. 2.99 ± 3.03 hours/week; p<0.001, respectively). No differences were found in the parental studies or the Mediterranean diet variable between groups. The results support the role of the educator at school and it is suggested that a healthy and regulated food supply could favor lower adiposity in children. Promoting physical exercise at school could also help with the degree of obesity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

How Important is Focalizing on a Healthier Lunch at School?

Serra-Payá

Ensenyat

Serra-Paya

et al. 2015

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences

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“…When these data are compared with an investigation carried out in a Brazilian city (17) and with data from the United States (34) , it is possible to verify that the students of the present study presented higher physical fitness deficit. The low levels of physical fitness are directly related to the increase of sedentarism in the contemporary society, especially due to the interest in passive activities such as portable games, television and computers (35) . Minimum indices of motor performance are necessary to maintain functional, motor and morphological levels to an expected physical fitness concerning health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aptidão física relacionada à saúde de escolares brasileiros: dados do projeto esporte Brasil

Pelegrini

Silva

Petroski

et al. 2011

Rev Bras Med Esporte

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Objetive: To analyze the physical fitness of Brazilian schoolchildren, according to a health-referenced criteria assessment. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, school-based, epidemiological study of 7,507 schoolchildren (4,114 boys and 3,393 girls) aged 7 to 10 years. The following variables were measured: body weight, height, flexibility (sit-and-reach), muscle strength/resistance (1 minute modified abdominal) and cardiorespiratory fitness (9-minute walk/run). The criteria and classifications used for the motor tests were recommended by the Physical Best. Results: The motor tests demonstrated low physical fitness, representing health risk in terms of flexibility (boys: 58.3%; girls: 51.2%, p<0.001), muscle strength/resistance (boys: 75.3%; girls: 73.8%, p<0.001) and cardiorespiratory fitness (boys: 80.8%; girls: 77.6%, p<0.001). The overall classification derived from all the three motor tests showed that very high proportion of the schoolchildren (~96%) did not meet the pre-established cut-offs for a satisfactory level of physical fitness. Conclusions: Effective intervention programs promoting changes in physical fitness standards are needed in order to contribute to the development of healthier levels of motor performance, especially based on public policy initiatives that provide opportunities for physical activity and sports in neighborhoods, parks and condominiums.

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“…Children’s lifestyles have unfavorably changed during the last decades: reported physical activity (PA) [1] and aerobic fitness have decreased [2], while media use [3] and unhealthy eating habits have increased [4]. These changes are of concern because they have a deleterious effect on childhood overweight (OW) and health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in Aerobic Fitness and Lifestyle Characteristics in Preschoolers according to their Weight Status and Sports Club Participation

et al. 2012

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Objective: This study assesses differences in adiposity, aerobic fitness, and lifestyle characteristics in preschoolers according to their weight status and sports club (SC) participation. Method: As part of the Ballabeina study, 600 randomly selected preschoolers (mean age 5.1 ± 0.6 years; 50.2% girls) were analyzed. Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance, aerobic fitness by the 20-meter shuttle run test, and physical activity by accelerometers. Eating habits, media use, and SC participation were assessed by questionnaires. Results: Overweight children (Swiss national percentiles) and children not participating in SC had both lower aerobic fitness and higher % body fat compared to their respective counterparts (all p ≤ 0.028). In addition, children not participating in SC were less physically active, had more media use, and ate less healthy compared to children participating in SC (all p ≤ 0.023). Controlling for parental sociocultural determinants attenuated differences in % body fat, in physical activity, and in eating habits. Conclusion: Aerobic fitness differs both according to weight status and SC participation in preschoolers. Furthermore, in view of the many differences in lifestyle behaviors, SC participation at this age could represent a more discriminatory indicator of healthy lifestyle characteristics than weight status.

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Are children of today less active than before and is their health in danger? What can we do?

Cited by 19 publications

References 11 publications

How Important is Focalizing on a Healthier Lunch at School?

How Important is Focalizing on a Healthier Lunch at School?

Aptidão física relacionada à saúde de escolares brasileiros: dados do projeto esporte Brasil

Differences in Aerobic Fitness and Lifestyle Characteristics in Preschoolers according to their Weight Status and Sports Club Participation

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