Obesity in 7 - 10-year-old children in urban primary schools in Port Elizabeth

McKersie, Joanna; Baard, Maryna Louise

doi:10.7196/sajsm.526

“…For example in 10-to 14-year-old girls and boys, the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity were 23% and 10%, respectively, and in 15-to 17-year-old girls and boys, the prevalence were 27% and 9%, respectively. 9,47 Since the 2014 Report Card, in the absence of national data, regional studies corroborate the growing public health challenge of childhood overweight and obesity, 14,15,[48][49][50][51][53][54][55][56] especially among the girls and in urban areas. 14,49,57,58 Moreover, in a 20-year prospective study, South African boys who were obese at 4 to 8 years old were 19.7% times more likely to be obese at age 16 to 18 years, and girls who were obese at 4 to 8 years old were a staggering 42.3 times more likely to be obese at 16 to 18 years compared with nonobese children.…”

Section: Nutrition Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The HealthKick study in 16 Schools in the Western Cape reported a small percentage of children eating take away foods the day before data collection, 62 while Feeley et al 51 reported that the nearly 1500 older adolescents interviewed in Soweto, consumed fast food items 11 times per week. The latter observation is corroborated by the Insight Survey's latest Fast Food Industry Landscape Report 2015 which states that "fast food is experiencing exponential growth with local consumers (16+ years old) increasing from 66% in 2009 to 80% in 2014.…”

Section: Nutrition Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Results From South Africa’s 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

Uys¹,

Bassett²,

Draper³

et al. 2016

Journal of Physical Activity and Health

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Background:We present results of the 2016 Healthy Active Kids South Africa (HAKSA) Report Card on the current status of physical activity (PA) and nutrition in South African youth. The context in which we interpret the findings is that participation in PA is a fundamental human right, along with the right to "attainment of the highest standard of health." Methods: The HAKSA 2016 Writing Group was comprised of 33 authorities in physical education, exercise science, nutrition, public health, and journalism. The search strategy was based on peer-reviewed manuscripts, dissertations, and 'gray' literature. The core PA indicators are Overall Physical Activity Level; Organized Sport Participation; Active and Outdoor Play; Active Transportation; Sedentary Behaviors; Family and Peer Influences; School; Community and the Built Environment; and National Government Policy, Strategies, and Investment. In addition, we reported on Physical Fitness and Motor Proficiency separately. We also reported on nutrition indicators including Overweight and Under-nutrition along with certain key behaviors such as Fruit and Vegetable Intake, and policies and programs including School Nutrition Programs and Tuck Shops. Data were extracted and grades assigned after consensus was reached. Grades were assigned to each indicator ranging from an A, succeeding with a large majority of children and youth (81% to 100%); B, succeeding with well over half of children and youth (61% to 80%); C, succeeding with about half of children and youth (41% to 60%); D, succeeding with less than half but some children and youth (21% to 40%); and F, succeeding with very few children and youth (0% to 20%); INC is inconclusive. Results: Overall PA levels received a C grade, as we are succeeding with more than 50% of children meeting recommendations. Organized Sports Participation also received a C, and Government Policies remain promising, receiving a B. Screen time and sedentary behavior were a major concern. Under-and over-weight were highlighted and, as overweight is on the rise, received a D grade. Conclusion:In particular, issues of food security, obesogenic environments, and access to activity-supportive environments should guide social mobilization downstream and policy upstream. There is an urgent need for practice-based evidence based on evaluation of existing, scaled up interventions.

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“…Height, weight and BMI of the children have been reported and discussed in detail elsewhere. [16] Table 3 illustrates descriptive data obtained for BMI and MET levels for the total group.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body mass index and associated physical activity levels in 7 - 10-year-old children in primary schools in Port Elizabeth

Baard

¹

,

McKersie

²

2014

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Background. Declining levels of physical activity coupled with the rising incidence of childhood obesity in developing countries are of health concern. Current daily recommendations for preadolescent children are to accumulate 60 min of moderate physical activity per day. In South Africa, physical education forms part of the life skills curriculum, but children have limited school time to engage in physical activity. As many obesogenic behaviours are learnt in childhood and track into adulthood, physical activity should be promoted at a young age and should be a research priority. Objectives. To explore and determine the association between body mass index (BMI) and daily physical activity levels as expressed in metabolic equivalent of task (MET) in 7 -10-year-old children in quintile-5 English-medium primary schools in Port Elizabeth. Methods. A quantitative, descriptive, one-way, cross-sectional design utilising random sampling was used. A once-off survey comprised anthropometric assessment of height and weight of 713 participants. Age-and gender-specific prevalence rates of overweight, obesity and underweight were calculated based on the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-off points. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and χ 2 tests were performed. A validated once-off interviewer-administered physical activity questionnaire was utilised to determine daily energy costs. Results. The BMI of the majority of children fell within the norm and was coupled with high levels of daily physical activity (average of 893 METs). No significant relationship was found for BMI and physical activity (p=0.8). Conclusion. Daily level of physical activity is not significantly related to BMI in urban children from an economically privileged setting.

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“…ANOVA indicated a significant difference in BMI IOTF z-scores between boys and girls (p<0.05) as reported in detail elsewhere. [16] The normative gender-specific IOTF cut-off criteria [11] were used to quantify obesity and overweight rates among participants. These values represent cut-off points chosen as percentiles that match adult cut-offs for BMI values.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body mass index and associated physical activity levels in 7 - 10-year-old children in primary schools in Port Elizabeth

Baard¹

2016

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Background. Declining levels of physical activity coupled with the rising incidence of childhood obesity in developing countries are of health concern. Current daily recommendations for preadolescent children are to accumulate 60 min of moderate physical activity per day. In South Africa, physical education forms part of the life skills curriculum, but children have limited school time to engage in physical activity. As many obesogenic behaviours are learnt in childhood and track into adulthood, physical activity should be promoted at a young age and should be a research priority. Objectives. To explore and determine the association between body mass index (BMI) and daily physical activity levels as expressed in metabolic equivalent of task (MET) in 7 -10-year-old children in quintile-5 English-medium primary schools in Port Elizabeth. Methods. A quantitative, descriptive, one-way, cross-sectional design utilising random sampling was used. A once-off survey comprised anthropometric assessment of height and weight of 713 participants. Age-and gender-specific prevalence rates of overweight, obesity and underweight were calculated based on the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-off points. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and χ 2 tests were performed. A validated once-off interviewer-administered physical activity questionnaire was utilised to determine daily energy costs. Results. The BMI of the majority of children fell within the norm and was coupled with high levels of daily physical activity (average of 893 METs). No significant relationship was found for BMI and physical activity (p=0.8). Conclusion. Daily level of physical activity is not significantly related to BMI in urban children from an economically privileged setting.

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Obesity in 7 - 10-year-old children in urban primary schools in Port Elizabeth

Cited by 9 publications

References 18 publications

Results From South Africa’s 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

Results From South Africa’s 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

Body mass index and associated physical activity levels in 7 - 10-year-old children in primary schools in Port Elizabeth

Body mass index and associated physical activity levels in 7 - 10-year-old children in primary schools in Port Elizabeth

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