The association between obesity and sedentary behavior or daily physical activity among children with Down's syndrome aged 7–12 years in Japan: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background An assessment of the adverse health effects of obesity in children with Down's syndrome (DS) is required to develop programs that facilitate the acquisition of healthy behaviors. Individuals with DS are often obese. These individuals must develop health related behaviors in childhood. For this reason, it is necessary to clarify the factors associated with obesity in children with DS. Aims This study had two purposes. The first was to assess the obesity and to evaluate the sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity of Japanese elementary school children with Down's syndrome. The second was to investigate the association between obesity and SB or moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Methods and procedures Ninety-three children (male/female: 51/42) with DS in elementary school grades 1 to 6 (aged 7–12 years) participated in this study in Japan. Physical characteristics were obtained from the questionnaire completed by their parents. The questionnaire provided information on regular school checkups. SB and MVPA were evaluated using a triaxial accelerometer. Results Approximately 20% of the children with DS were obese. Nearly half of the children with DS achieved 60 min of MVPA. SB time was significantly longer in the upper grades (aged 11–12 years) than in the lower grades (aged 7–8 years). Comparing weekdays and weekend days, the middle (aged 9–10 years) and upper grades had significantly shorter MVPA times on weekend days. The frequency of obesity was significantly associated with shorter MVPA times in the lower grades and longer SB time in the middle grades. Conclusions and implications Children with DS may increase their SB time as their age group (grade category) increases. Increasing opportunities for MVPA during weekends may increase physical activity. The observed relationship between obesity and SB time or MVPA time may apply only to younger and middle grade children with DS. Further investigation is necessary to confirm these relationships.

The after-school sedentary behavior status among children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities

“…Esposito et al highlighted that the time of SB per week for adolescents with ID usually increased with age ( 11 ). One study from Japan also noted that children with ID aged 11–12 years old engaged significantly more time in SB than those aged 7–8 years old ( 27 ). However, Foerste et al’s study outlined that there was no correlation between SB and age in adolescents with ID ( 28 ).…”

“…The following were inclusion criteria for the parents: (1) their child came from day school; (2) their child was between the ages of 6 and 18; (3) their child could walk without any help; and (4) their child did not experience coexisting cerebral palsy, autism, and other sensory impairments. The ID level was categorized as profound [intelligence quotient (IQ) < 25], severe (IQ of [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39], moderate (IQ of 40-54), and mild (IQ of 55-70) (18). Additionally, children and adolescents with ID were divided into three age subgroups, 6-12, 13-15, and 16-18 years old, which matched the Chinese school education system's definition of the age range for the primary, junior middle, and junior high schools (19).…”

A comparison of nutritional status between children with and without disabilities

“…This may be because of the inclusion of children with only a particular type of disability (intellectual disability). [ 19 ] In the study conducted by Nogay et al . in Pakistan, the proportion of underweight among children with intellectual disabilities was 14.3%, much lower compared to our study that estimated about 33.1% as per WHO BMI centiles Classification.…”

The Amount of Light to Vigorous Physical Activity (Met’s-Hours/Day) in Children with and without Down Syndrome Attending Elementary School in Japan

“…Physical activity is essential to reduce the risk of obesity [5,7,8]. According to the Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Guidelines (2020), the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that children and adolescents (ages [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] with and without disabilities engage in at least 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), alongside reducing sedentary behavior (SB) [9].…”

“…MVPA ≥ 60 min/day or more of physical activity is reported beneficial in children with DS [10][11][12]. However, reports suggest that achieving more than 60 min/day of MVPA is difficult for children with DS [11,[13][14][15][16][17]. In contrast, the studies by Matute-Llorente et al [11,15], which compared the amount of physical activity in adolescents with and without DS, found lesser MVPA duration but more light physical activity (LPA) duration.…”