Physical activity and physical fitness in obese, overweight, and normal-weight children

Abstract

Background/aim: The aim was to assess the differences between physical activity and physical fitness in obese, overweight, and normalweight children. Materials and methods:The cross-sectional study was accomplished using cluster sampling method at 3 Lithuanian schools. An analysis of anthropometric data for 532 Lithuanian children was performed. Height, weight, waist and hip circumferences, and skinfold thickness were measured. Body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and body fat percentage were calculated. The Youth Physical Activity Questionnaire and a 6-min walk test (6MWT) were administered to evaluate physical activity and physical fitness. Maximal oxygen consumption was calculated to assess the children's aerobic capacity. Correlations among anthropometric data, 6MWT-walked distance, and moderate-vigorous physical activity duration were analyzed. Results:The study showed that 20.1% of the studied children were obese or overweight. They engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity 22.4 min less per day and walked 50.9 m less on average during a 6-min test than normal-weight children. Physical fitness parameters correlated with daily moderate-vigorous physical activity duration and with most of the children's anthropometric parameters. Conclusion:Obese and overweight children were less physically active and had lower physical fitness than normal-weight children. The findings underline the need for interventions to increase physical activity and improve fitness in obese and overweight children.

Impact of Weight Status on the Cardiopulmonary Fitness Outcome of a School‐Based Physical Activity Program

“…Overweight and obese children face additional challenges and may need additional attention in PE classes or programs to achieve improved fitness; overweight and obese children showed poorer improvements in cardiopulmonary fitness level than their normal weight peers at follow‐up. It is possible that these children were less likely to be physically active and fit at baseline, and therefore improvements take longer time than their normal weight classmates 49 . However, one question to be explored is whether these children were not as engaged in school‐based physical activity programs or regular PE classes.…”

Objectively Determined Physical Activity Levels in German Primary School Children after a One Year School-based Health Promoting Intervention

“…In this study, overweight children spent significantly more time in MVPA as well as reached the physical activity recommendations significantly more often than their normal weight counterparts. Very early findings have also shown higher levels of physical activity in overweight or obese children [73,74] whilst most of the recent studies [75][76][77] found the opposite and others [22,78] did not report any association between weight status and MVPA. However, in this sample only a very small proportion of children were classified as overweight or obese (3 and 3.6%, respectively) which is considerably less than the incidence of overweight and obesity in a representative national sample of 7 to 10 year old children (9 and 6.4%, respectively [79]).…”

Determining the Risk Factors Related with Obesity and Overweight in Junior High School Students: A Case-Control Study

“…Other studies have also shown that there is no correlation between birth weight and childhood obesity. 26,32 However, there is a variety of information in the relevant literature. Several studies have indicated that high birth weight is associated with an increased risk of childhood obesity.…”

“…Studies have shown that the level of physical activity is higher among children with normal weight. 26,32 Shoup et al stated that overweight and obese children whose level of physical activity is lower have a poorer quality of life than children who have normal weights and are more active. It appears that physical activity is important in preventing children from becoming overweight and obese.…”