Participation in sports, body composition, and fitness characteristics in children according to ethnic background

Abstract

Participation in sports has important implications, being associated with health and social features. The objectives of this study were to verify whether there were any differences in sport participation between immigrant and Italian children and whether there was any relation with their body composition and fitness characteristics. A survey was conducted on 1432 children attending primary school in the Emilia-Romagna (northern Italy). Anthropometric measurements, fitness characteristics, and data about participation in sports were considered. Italian children were more likely to participate in sports than immigrants and boys than girls. Among immigrants, the lowest values were observed in Asians. Eastern European males and Latin American females displayed the widest dimensions. Eastern Europeans generally showed the highest values of strength, while Latin Americans had the highest values of flexibility. Asian children showed the highest values of centripetal fat, and a high percentage of them exceeded the %F reference. These aspects, together with the low frequency of practicing sports, place Asians at greater risks for health. Sex and ethnic group are the most informative variables associated with participation in sports by children. Interventions including health education lessons and promoting the participation in sports for immigrant children attending schools need to be encouraged.

Body Composition, Physical Activity, and Convenience Food Consumption among Asian American Youth: 2011–2018 NHANES

“…This study revealed that daily physical activity was lower among Asian Americans compared to non-Hispanic White Americans. The lack of integration of the Asian community could partly explain the lower participation in physical activity, such as sport [ 44 ]. Such lack of social integration could lead to the lack of parents’ awareness of the health risks associated with obesogenic environments in Western countries and the lack of information about the benefits of participating in sports or other extracurricular activities.…”

2.26 Is Sports Participation Protective of Child Mental Health?

“…Sports participation has been found to be lower among ethnic minorities and immigrants, in many cases coinciding with low SES. 45,50 Given their complex relationship to both psychiatric diagnoses and sports participation, we felt it was important to control for age, gender, and ethnicity in our analysis.…”

A 10-week implementation of the FIT FIRST FOR ALL school-based physical activity concept effectively improves cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition in 7–16-year-old schoolchildren

“…Schools may present an ideal setting for implementing physical activity interventions since most children and adolescents spend a substantial part of their weekly hours in school. Moreover, the presence of a social gradient in health and fitness ( 11 , 12 ), potential gender differences ( 13–16 ) and differences in leisure time sports-participation among children of diverse ethnicities ( 17 ) can be effectively addressed through school-based models targeting all children irrespective of demographics. However, despite the potential, a recent review ( 18 ) on the health effects of school-based physical activity interventions concludes that many of the investigated interventions lead to either minimal or small effects, hence further investigation into new interventions remains crucial.…”