Associations between cardiorespiratory fitness, fatness, hemodynamic characteristics, and sedentary behaviour in primary school-aged children

Abstract

Background Low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases during childhood, adolescence and older ages. The purpose of the study was to investigate associations between fatness, hemodynamic characteristics and secondary time with CRF in primary school-aged children. Methods Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), CRF (20 m shuttle-run) and sedentary time were measured for 105 children (categorized as normal, overweight, obese). The independent sample t-test checked for differences and one-way ANOVA—Post Hoc Test and stepwise linear regression analysis assessed the 20 m shuttle-run performance predictors. Results There was a statistically significant difference in CRF between boys and girls. There was a statistically significant difference between (p < 0.05) CRF for Normal weight (M = 47.58 ± 3.26 kg m−2) and Obese (M = 44.78 ± 3.23 kg m−2). CRF correlated with age, BMI and sedentary time (r > 0.3; p < 0.05). BMI is the best independent predictor of CRF. Conclusions Children with normal BMI tend to present better CRF performance than obese and overweight children. Sedentary behaviour is associated with lower CRF in primary school-aged children.

Impaired cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular fitness in children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a cross-sectional case–control study in the era of biologic drug therapies

“…As in the Norwegian study, also we found that a lower body mass index was associated with higher VO2 peak/kg in JIA patients [13]. A recent study by Pepera et al 2022 observed that healthy children with a normal BMI had better CRF than obese and overweight children [44]. In 2010, Goran et al reported that the major influence of body weight on VO2 peak is explained by fat free mass and that excess fatness has a detrimental effect on submaximal aerobic capacity [45].…”

Fitness, Fatness, and Academic Attainment in Male Schoolchildren from a Soccer Academy

“…To date, the majority of results from research support previously published results concerning the negative impact of high %BF on both aerobic and anaerobic fitness related components in 10- to 12-year-old school-aged team handball players in Qatar [ 41 ]. Previous reports confirm that correlations exist between fatness, physical fitness, and academic performance in pre-pubertal handball children in Qatar [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. In addition, the results of Hermassi et al [ 22 ] show that both BMI and %BF were negatively correlated with academic performance of schoolchildren handball players.…”

“…There is a well-described positive association between academic attainment and physical fitness [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], which justifies school-based physical activity programs with the joint aim of increasing physical fitness and academic attainment in schoolchildren. Specifically, the positive relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and academic achievement has attracted considerable attention in the last decade [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 26 ].…”

“…There is a well-described positive association between academic attainment and physical fitness [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], which justifies school-based physical activity programs with the joint aim of increasing physical fitness and academic attainment in schoolchildren. Specifically, the positive relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and academic achievement has attracted considerable attention in the last decade [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 26 ]. However, other fitness components such as agility, strength, and power and their relationship with academic achievement are less well researched [ 22 , 23 ], and therefore, associations between cognitive health and muscular fitness require further exploration [ 27 ].…”

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing and Cardiac Biomarker Measurements in Young Football Players: A Pilot Study

“…As obesity and the sedentary lifestyle are becoming more prevalent, especially among the young population, cardiorespiratory functional evaluations are useful tools for assessing the fitness level. In recent studies, CRF has been proven to correlate negatively with parameters such as BMI and the sedentary lifestyle at younger ages [ 52 ].…”