Energy balance and physical activity in obese children attending day-care centres

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate energy balance and physical activity in obese preschool children attending day-care centres. Design: Cross-sectional study. Subjects: Twenty-four 3-5 years old obese children selected at random from four different day-care centres in Santiago City, Chile. Total energy expenditure (TEE) was measured by doubly labelled water and physical activity as recorded by TRITRAC R3D motion sensor. Energy intake was assessed by measuring food intake while at the centre, along with the recording of additional food intake in the home. Results: Obese children had a 5.4% higher weighed energy intake than their energy requirements 2001. Energy intake during the week was 771671092 kJ/day and 740171023 kJ/day in boys and girls, respectively. Minimal activity was higher in the daycare centres (62%) compared to 52% during the weekend at home. Light activity was higher during the weekend at home than during the week (25 versus 20%), but moderate-intense activity was similar (3-5%). Conclusions: Reduction in dietary energy provided at the day-care centres helps to balance energy requirements during the week. Obese children had marked sedentary characteristics with regards to physical activity, although children are more active at home in weekends. This situation suggests that educators and parents need to improve children's physical activity levels and nutrition habits.

Physical activity levels and energy expenditure of 9-year-old – 12-year-old overweight and obese children

“…The research by Fairclough et al (2007) included physical education (PE) periods during the morning hours, and these PE periods were the most active time of the morning. The results of Vasquez et al (2006Vasquez et al ( :1117 are also to be expected, as toddlers have more free time for play during school hours than children who attend formal schooling. In our study the children did not have a formal PE period.…”

“…Significant differences were also found in the TEE and the predetermined energy requirements for boys and girls. Energy input for children who were obese according to the National Center for Health and Statistics standard (WHO 1986) was already 5.4% higher in this study than the energy requirements (Vasquez et al 2006(Vasquez et al :1115. In a study on 8-yearold -16-year-old overweight and obese children Aires et al (2007:871) reported less activity over the weekend compared to that during the week, while similar findings were reported by Trost, McIver and Pate (2005:S531).…”

“…Differences between the time spent at the different activity levels (sedentary, light and moderate) during the morning and afternoon session were also found, with significantly more time spent at the light and moderate physical activity levels in the afternoon, while less was spent at the sedentary physical activity level. Research with children of normal weight (Fairclough, Butcher & Stratton 2007:421) as well as obese 3-year-olds -5-yearolds (Vasquez et al 2006(Vasquez et al :1115 showed that these children were more active in the morning than in the afternoon. The research by Fairclough et al (2007) included physical education (PE) periods during the morning hours, and these PE periods were the most active time of the morning.…”

“…None of the mentioned studies, however, measured the physical activity levels of overweight or obese children. In addition, only a few studies (Vasquez et al 2006(Vasquez et al :1115Aires et al 2007:871;Goldfield et al 2008:592) studied the energy expenditure and physical activity levels of overweight or obese children. Vasquez et al (2006Vasquez et al ( :1115 studied activity levels of 3-5-yearold obese children, showing that 58% of their time (488 min.)…”

Using stable isotope techniques in nutrition assessments and tracking of global targets post-2015

“…In Latin America, the focus had mainly been on establishing capacity to evaluate interventions designed to combat the double burden of malnutrition that exists in these areas (34)(35)(36) . O) in a technique known as the doublelabelled water method, researchers can obtain an estimate of total daily energy expenditure in individuals undergoing their normal daily living activities.…”