Physical fitness and physical activity of 6-7-year-old children according to weight status and sports participation

Abstract

Background The aim of this study was to investigate physical fitness and physical activity (PA) of 6-7-year-old children just before entering school according to their sports club (SC) participation and weight status, and to examine possible associations of their body mass index, fat mass and fat-free mass with physical fitness and PA. Methods A total of 256 preschoolers aged 6 to 7 years participated in the study. Physical fitness was assessed using PREFIT test battery and objective PA by 7 day accelerometry. Body composition was estimated using two skinfold thickness parameters. SC participation and parental data were assessed by questionnaires. Results Children participating in SC had higher moderate-to-vigorous PA, vigorous PA and cardiorespiratory fitness than children not participating in SC. Overweight children had lower results in cardiorespiratory fitness and all weight-bearing fitness tests, and better results in handgrip strength test in comparison with normal weight children. Significant associations were found between body composition indices and physical fitness tests. PA level was associated with fat-free mass and physical fitness but not with fatness indices. Conclusions Weight-status and body composition together with PA level were associated with physical fitness level. The differences in physical fitness based more upon weight status than SC participation among 6-7-years old children.

Associations between physical activity, body composition, and physical fitness in the transition from preschool to school

“…8 Cross-sectional studies have confirmed that vigorous PA (VPA) is strongly associated with lower adiposity, 9 and higher fat-free mass index (FFMI) already in 4-year-old children, 10 but there are somewhat contradictory results about the effect of sedentary behavior (SB) on indicators of obesity in preschoolers. [9][10][11][12][13] However, there appears to be a relatively little research focused on identifying whether PA and body composition patterns at preschool age will be transmitted to school period. It has been reported that only the level of VPA, but not total or moderate PA (MPA), was related to the improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in longitudinal study with 4-to 6-year-old Swiss children 9 months after baseline measurements.…”

Physical Activity in 6.5-Year-Old Children Born Extremely Preterm

“…We show that extremely preterm boys are less physically active at 6.5 years of age than term boys and that severe neonatal brain injury is the strongest predictor of less PA among the index children. The difference in time in MVPA between index boys and control boys is larger than, for example, the difference seen between overweight and normal-weight children at the same age [ 36 ]. This reduction in PA may theoretically, given the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in adults born preterm and the preventive effect of physical activity, be a link in the development of cardiovascular diseases later in life [ 37 , 38 , 39 ].…”

Relationship Between the Practice of Physical Activity and Physical Fitness in Physical Education Students: The Integrated Regulation As a Mediating Variable

“…The interpretation of the score results should be carefully considered due to the lack of significant differences in the PA levels. Several scientific evidences highlighted an association between both factors, when higher PA practice levels are registered, an increase in PF levels is expected (Dollman et al, 2005;Dumith et al, 2011;Rauner et al, 2013;Schutte et al, 2016;Palou et al, 2019;Riso et al, 2019). The most plausible explanation for these differences by gender may be due to aspects of evolutive growth, which would allow boys to perform physical tests in a different way (Fang et al, 2017).…”

“…In this line, the current data show worrying statistics, since a high percentage of this population are below the minimum PA practice levels pre-established by the WHO. This institution recommends at least 60 min per day of moderate physical activity (MPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA) for the maintenance of adequate levels in order to provide health benefits at these ages (Riddoch et al, 2007;Nader et al, 2008;Webber et al, 2008;Steele et al, 2009;Dumith et al, 2011;Ekelund et al, 2011;Griffiths et al, 2013;Benítez-Porres et al, 2016a;Fang et al, 2017;Onetti-Onetti et al, 2019;Riso et al, 2019). Furthermore, scientific research in recent years has supported a focused reduction in these levels of PA practice at early ages, highlighting the fact that, as in primary education, there is a decreasing tendency for PA practice levels year by year, with an increasing inactivity trend continuing through adolescence and even adulthood (Nader et al, 2008).…”

“…As a complement to the concern and importance of PA practice, current research focuses on combined studies with fitness levels (PF) ( Ruiz et al, 2011 ; Rauner et al, 2013 ; Henriksson et al, 2016 ; Schutte et al, 2016 ; Wang et al, 2016 ; Palou et al, 2019 ; Riso et al, 2019 ; Tomkinson et al, 2019 ; López-Gil et al, 2020 ), and also including other variables such as obesity ( Ness et al, 2007 ; Steele et al, 2009 ; Ekelund et al, 2011 ; Collings et al, 2013 ; Rauner et al, 2013 ; Benítez-Porres et al, 2016b ; Henriksson et al, 2016 ; Fang et al, 2017 ; Palou et al, 2019 ), eating habits ( Agostinis-Sobrinho et al, 2018 ; Ramírez-Vélez et al, 2018 ; López-Gil et al, 2020 ), physical self-concept or body image ( Fernández-Bustos et al, 2019 ; Onetti-Onetti et al, 2019 ), and the motivational climate ( Chacón-Cuberos et al, 2018a , b , 2019 ; Castro-Sánchez et al, 2019 ; Zurita-Ortega et al, 2019 ), among others.…”