Determinants of Childhood Adiposity: Evidence from the Australian LOOK Study

Abstract

BackgroundTo contribute to the current debate as to the relative influences of dietary intake and physical activity on the development of adiposity in community-based children.MethodsParticipants were 734 boys and girls measured at age 8, 10 and 12 years for percent body fat (dual emission x-ray absorptiometry), physical activity (pedometers, accelerometers); and dietary intake (1 and 2-day records), with assessments of pubertal development and socioeconomic status.ResultsCross-sectional relationships revealed that boys and girls with higher percent body fat were less physically active, both in terms of steps per day and moderate and vigorous physical activity (both sexes p<0.001 for both measures). However, fatter children did not consume more energy, fat, carbohydrate or sugar; boys with higher percent body fat actually consumed less carbohydrate (p = 0.01) and energy (p = 0.05). Longitudinal analysis (combined data from both sexes) was weaker, but supported the cross-sectional findings, showing that children who reduced their PA over the four years increased their percent body fat (p = 0.04). Relationships in the 8 year-olds and also in the leanest quartile of all children, where adiposity-related underreporting was unlikely, were consistent with those of the whole group, indicating that underreporting did not influence our findings.ConclusionsThese data provide support for the premise that physical activity is the main source of variation in the percent body fat of healthy community-based Australian children. General community strategies involving dietary intake and physical activity to combat childhood obesity may benefit by making physical activity the foremost focus of attention.

Effects of a Specialist-Led, School Physical Education Program on Bone Mass, Structure, and Strength in Primary School Children: A 4-Year Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

“…(19) Total energy intake (kJ/d) and dietary calcium intake (mg/d) was assessed at age 8 years (baseline) from a 24-hour dietary record on a school day in which parents, children, and teachers combined to record all food, beverages, and supplements consumed, with a follow-up interview to confirm details. (20) At age 12 years (year 4 of the study), a similar methodology was used but with two 24-hour recalls (1 school day and 1 nonschool day). (20) All data were analyzed using the FoodWorks software system (version 2007; Xyris, Brisbane, Australia).…”

Physical Education and Blood Lipid Concentrations in Children: The LOOK Randomized Cluster Trial

“…A secondary objective was to determine whether any such effect could be explained by changes in physical activity, fitness or body composition. This was part of a larger multidisciplinary study, the Lifestyle of our Kids (LOOK) study [9], areas of investigation including cardiovascular risk [10], body composition [11], academic performance[12], bone geometry [13], body image [14], insulin resistance [15], and pediatric blood reference ranges [16]. Because a control group devoid of PE was not possible, our control group consisted of children whose PE was delivered by general classroom teachers; and to highlight differences in the two programs we employed a systematic method of class observation to classify key characteristics.…”

Ingesta de energía y nutrientes en niños de 2-4 años que asisten al programa "Buen Comienzo", Medellín (Colombia)

“…Esta información concuerda con otros reportes realizados, en donde el menor consumo de energía en los niños más obesos parece contradictorio; sin embargo, estudios realizados en Perú, Chile y Australia describen que la ingesta media de energía en niños es más alta en aquellos con un peso normal que en los niños con obesidad (25)(26)(27)(28). Estos resultados pueden partir de la relación entre la ingesta de energía, la práctica de actividad física y el IMC o, en su defecto, otras medidas de adiposidad, pues se ha evidenciado que probablemente aquellos niños con un IMC o porcentaje de grasa corporal (%GC) adecuado, tienen una mayor exposición a la actividad física y mayor ingesta de energía; por el contrario, aquellos individuos con IMC o %GC alto son menos activos y su ingesta energética puede ser menor (28)(29)(30).…”

“…Esta información concuerda con otros reportes realizados, en donde el menor consumo de energía en los niños más obesos parece contradictorio; sin embargo, estudios realizados en Perú, Chile y Australia describen que la ingesta media de energía en niños es más alta en aquellos con un peso normal que en los niños con obesidad (25)(26)(27)(28). Estos resultados pueden partir de la relación entre la ingesta de energía, la práctica de actividad física y el IMC o, en su defecto, otras medidas de adiposidad, pues se ha evidenciado que probablemente aquellos niños con un IMC o porcentaje de grasa corporal (%GC) adecuado, tienen una mayor exposición a la actividad física y mayor ingesta de energía; por el contrario, aquellos individuos con IMC o %GC alto son menos activos y su ingesta energética puede ser menor (28)(29)(30). La evidencia ha mostrado que la prevalencia de obesidad no solo se debe a un balance calórico positivo, sino a la existencia de otros aspectos relacionados con el estilo de vida y con factores socioeconómicos, ambientales y culturales (31)(32)(33), entre las que se encuentra la actividad física; sin embargo, en este estudio no fue posible relacionar el estado nutricional, el consumo de alimentos y la actividad física, debido a que en el macroproyecto no se contó con la clasificación de actividad física a nivel individual.…”