The relationship between lifestyle, social characteristics and obesity in 3‐year‐old Japanese children

Lopes

Rev. Bras. Cineantropom. Desempenho Hum.

2012

-Physical activity (PA) in children has a decisive role in motor development and prevention of childhood obesity. The available evidence suggests that there is high prevalence of low levels of PA in children, but little is known about the level of PA in preschool children. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence and the factors associated with low levels of PA in preschool children. This was a cross-sectional study performed in private schools in the municipality of Olinda (state of Pernambuco), with data collection through parent's face-to-face interviews. The study included 265 children (54.3% girls) with mean age of 4.9 years (SD=0.8). Children who did not perform at least 60 minutes/day of outdoors physical activities were considered exposed to low levels of PA. Data analysis was performed by logistic regression considering low level of PA as the outcome. The results showed that 65.3% (95%CI: 9.4-70.8) of children were classified as exposed to 'low level of PA' . Analysis showed that higher parental education (OR=2.41; 95%CI: 1.13-5.10), lack of space for playing at home (OR=2.36; 95%CI: 1.17-4.78), and attending school in the afternoon (OR=2.92, 95%CI 1.55-5.49) or full-time (OR=57.1, 95%CI 6.57-496.2) were associated with low levels of PA. Preschoolers from families with higher number of children had lower likelihood of low level of PA (OR=0.49; 95%CI 0.26-0.93). It can be concluded that the proportion of children exposed to low levels of PA is high compared to the results of similar studies and that parental and environmental factors are associated with physical activity level in preschool-aged children. Key words: Epidemiology; Motor activity; Preschool. 65,3% (IC95%: 9,8) (OR=2,41; IC95%: 1,10), falta de espaços para jogos e brincadeiras na residência (OR=2,36; IC95%: 1,78) e estudar em período vespertino (OR=2,92; IC95%: 1,49) ou integral (OR=57,1; IC95%: 6,2) foram fatores associados a baixo nível de AF. Maior número de filhos foi identificado como fator de proteção em relação a baixo nível de AF (OR=0,49; IC95%: 0,93 Resumo -A prática de atividades físicas (AF) na infância tem papel decisivo no desenvolvimento motor e prevenção da obesidade infantil. Evidências disponíveis sugerem que há elevada prevalência de baixos níveis de AF em crianças, mas pouco se conhece sobre o nível de AF em pré-escolares. O objetivo do estudo foi identificar a prevalência e os fatores associados ao baixo nível de AF em pré-escolares. Estudo transversal realizado em escolas privadas da Cidade de Olinda (PE), com coleta de dados mediante entrevista "face a face" com os pais das crianças. Participaram do estudo 265 crianças (54,3% meninas) com idade média de 4,9 anos (DP=0,8). Foram consideradas expostas a baixo nível de AF as crianças que não realizavam, no mínimo, 60 minutos/dia de AF ao ar livre. A análise dos dados foi efetuada mediante regressão logística, considerando o baixo nível de AF como desfecho. Os resultados mostram que

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalência de baixo nível de atividade física em crianças pré-escolares.

Lopes

Rev. Bras. Cineantropom. Desempenho Hum.

2012

“…Some studies have reported a causal association between mother's employment and child obesity in Canadian 4 and American children 5 Meals were less frequent when mothers were employed in a Spanish study. 6 There was a higher incidence of child obesity among full-time employed Japanese mothers compared with non-employed mothers, 7 Other studies do not find any relationship between employment and non-employment 8,9 or report mixed 10 or no association between variation of dietary variables and maternal employment. 11 Takahashi et al 12 found a positive relationship between mothers' employment and children's probability of being overweight.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Mother employment status and nutritional patterns in Japanese junior high schoolchildren

Gaina¹,

Sekine

Chandola³

et al. 2009

Int J Obes

Aims: To investigate associations between mothers' employment (full, part time and no employment) and nutrition habits (regularity of breakfast, snack, dinner, meal speed and portion size) in a sample of Japanese junior high schoolchildren, 12-13 years of age. Methods: A total of 10 453 children aged 12-13 years from the Toyama birth cohort study (fourth phase) participated, of whom 8906 children (89% response rate) responded to all questions related to the examined variables. Nutrition habits consisted of breakfast, snack, dinner, meal speed and meal portion. Children's obesity/overweight was measured by body mass index (BMI). Results: Fathers' employment had no effect on their children's nutrition patterns. Children of full-time employed mothers were the most likely to snack and to skip dinner. Children of part-time employed mothers ate larger meal portions, and those of nonemployed mothers reported faster meal speeds. BMI was significantly (Po0.001) higher among children of full-time employed mothers (19.3), and lowest among non-employed mothers (19.00). Children of full-time employed mothers are more likely to be overweight, but not obese compared with other children. Conclusion: There was a strong relationship between mother's employment and nutrition patterns in this cohort of Japanese schoolchildren; special programs focused on children's nutrition patterns should take into account the mothers' employment status.

“…Furthermore, Japanese studies reported that irregular snacking had become more common in children, which may contribute to the increasing prevalence of obesity seen in children. [35][36][37] To our knowledge, no previous study has evaluated the effect of an irregular meal pattern on energy metabolism in adults. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of irregular meal frequency on energy expenditure and energy intake in healthy normal weight women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decreased thermic effect of food after an irregular compared with a regular meal pattern in healthy lean women

2004

OBJECTIVES:To investigate the impact of irregular meal frequency on body weight, energy intake, appetite and resting energy expenditure in healthy lean women. DESIGN: Nine healthy lean women aged 18-42 y participated in a randomised crossover trial consisting of three phases over a total of 43 days. Subjects attended the laboratory at the start and end of phases 1 and 3. In Phase 1 (14 days), subjects were asked to consume similar things as normal, but either on 6 occasions per day (regular meal pattern) or follow a variable predetermined meal frequency (between 3 and 9 meals/day) with the same total number of meals over the week. In Phase 2 (14 days), subjects continued their normal diet as a wash-out period. In Phase 3 (14 days), subjects followed the alternative meal pattern to that followed in Phase 1. Subjects recorded their food intake for three predetermined days during the irregular period when they were eating 9, 3 and 6 meals/day. They also recorded their food intake on the corresponding days during the regular meal pattern period. Subjects fasted overnight prior to each laboratory visit, at which fasting resting metabolic rate (RMR) was measured by open-circuit indirect calorimetry. Postprandial metabolic rate was then measured for 3 h after the consumption of a milkshake test meal (50% CHO, 15% protein and 35% fat of energy content). Subjects rated appetite before and after the test meal. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in body weight and 3-day mean energy intake between the regular and irregular meal pattern. In the irregular period, the mean energy intake on the day when 9 meals were eaten was significantly greater than when 6 or 3 meals were consumed (P ¼ 0.0001). There was no significant difference between the 3 days of the regular meal pattern. Subjective appetite measurement showed no significant differences before and after the test meal in all visits. Fasting RMR showed no significant differences over the experiment. The overall thermic effect of food (TEF) over the 3 h after the test meal was significantly lower after the irregular meal pattern (P ¼ 0.003). CONCLUSION: Irregular meal frequency led to a lower postprandial energy expenditure compared with the regular meal frequency, while the mean energy intake was not significantly different between the two. The reduced TEF with the irregular meal frequency may lead to weight gain in the long term.