Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, and Obesity in an International Sample of Children (original) (raw)
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Physical activity in relation to overweight and obesity in children and adolescents
European Journal of Pediatrics, 2000
Fitness and physical activity levels of children and adolescents are commonly addressed but data on scienti®c investigations are both equivocal and methodologically diverse. The intensity and type of physical activity that bene®t health and development during childhood are not known. Measurement of activity in children is problematic since there is no valid method of assessing activity levels that is feasible for use in large ®eld studies. Most studies using self-report methods, heart rate studies using low heart rate threshold and doubly labelled water studies indicate relatively high levels of activity in children. The three national surveys on large representative samples reported that 60% to 70% of all children were involved in sucient physical activity according to various de®nitions. Heart rate studies demonstrate that children generally perform short bouts of moderate to vigorous activities and seldom participate in long-sustained vigorous activities. They also proved that children perform large volumes of activity in the lower heart rate zones. It is generally accepted that boys are more active than girls and physical activity declines by age (peak around 13 to 14 years of age). The dierence between the physical activity of European and North American children or between children living in dierent European countries is dicult to judge due to the diversity of methodology and de®nitions. Conclusion There is a need to identify more clearly the quantity and type of activity which improves the health and promotes the normal development of children and to improve the methods assessing physical activity. Key words Childhood obesity á Physical activity Abbreviations DLW doubly labelled water á EEA energy expended in activity á HR heart rate á MVPA moderate to vigorous physical activity á PAL physical activity level á TDEE total daily energy expenditure
Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism
Introduction: While international prevention guidelines recently advocated, in addition to moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) guidelines, for a minimization of sedentary (SED) time, recommendations remain to be developed for youths with obesity. Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, plus the reference lists of selected articles for relevant publications in English, including original papers, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, with search terms “sedentary behaviors” or “sedentary time” or “screen time” AND “children” or “adolescents” AND “obesity” or “adiposity” or “cardiometabolic risk” or “cardiometabolic disease.” The results were summarized as a narrative review and presented to the scientific board of the European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG), who then discussed their implication in clinical practice and proposed the position outlined in this paper. Results: SED and screen times are associated with adiposity and cardiometab...
Sedentary Behavior and Obesity in a Large Cohort of Children
Obesity, 2009
The purpose of this study was to examine the association between sedentary behaviour and obesity among 12-year-old children, while adjusting for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and other potential confounding variables.
Pediatric exercise science, 2017
Globally, public health policies are targeting modifiable lifestyle behaviours. We explore the independent association of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behaviour on the risk of childhood overweight/obesity. A cross-sectional survey of children aged 8-11 years (N=826). Objective body mass index was used to classify children as normal weight or overweight/obese. Children wore wrist-worn Geneactiv accelerometers for 7-days and thresholds were applied to categorise MVPA and sedentary time. Screen time (ST) was parent reported. Poisson regression examined the independent association of (1) MVPA, (2) objective sedentary time and (3) ST on the risk of overweight/obesity. Overall, 23.7% (95% CI, 20.8-26.6%) of children were overweight/obese. On average, children spent 10.8% of waking time at MVPA and 61.3% sedentary. One-fifth (22.1%, 95% CI, 19.3-25.0%) of children achieved MVPA recommendations (≥60 minutes each day) and 17.5% (95% CI, 14.9-20.1%) met ST recom...
BMC Public Health, 2011
Background: Cardio-metabolic risk factors are becoming more prevalent in children and adolescents. A lack of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) is an established determinant of cardio-metabolic risk factors in children and adolescents. Less is known about the relationship between sedentary behavior and cardiometabolic health. Therefore, the objective was to examine the independent associations between volume, patterns, and types of sedentary behavior with cardio-metabolic risk factors among children and adolescents. Methods: The results are based on 2527 children and adolescents (6-19 years old) from the 2003/04 and 2005/06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). A cardio-metabolic risk score (CRS) was calculated based on age-and sex-adjusted waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and C-reactive protein values. Volume and patterns of sedentary behavior and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were measured objectively using accelerometers. Types of sedentary behavior were measured by questionnaire. A series of logistic regression models were used to examine associations. Results: Volume and patterns of sedentary behavior were not predictors of high CRS after adjusting for MVPA and other confounders (P > 0.1). For types of sedentary behavior, high TV use, but not high computer use, was a predictor of high CRS after adjustment for MVPA and other confounders. Children and adolescents who watched ≥4 hours per day of TV were 2.53 (95% confidence interval: 1.45-4.42) times more likely to have high CRS than those who watched <1 hour per day. MVPA predicted high CRS after adjusting for all sedentary behavior measures and other confounders. After adjustment for waist circumference, MVPA also predicted high non-obesity CRS; however, the same relationship was not seen with TV use. Conclusion: No association was observed between overall volume and patterns of sedentary behavior with cardiometabolic risk factors in this large sample of children and adolescents. Conversely, high TV use and low MVPA were independently associated with cardio-metabolic risk factors. However, the association between high TV use and clustered cardio-metabolic risk factors appears to be mediated or confounded by obesity. Thus, TV and MVPA appear to be two separate behaviors that need to be targeted with different interventions and policies.
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2014
Background: Lower levels of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) have been associated with increased cardiometabolic risk among children. However, little is known about the independent and combined associations of PA and SB as well as different types of these behaviours with cardiometabolic risk in children. We therefore investigated these relationships among children. Methods: The subjects were a population sample of 468 children 6-8 years of age. PA and SB were assessed by a questionnaire administered by parents and validated by a monitor combining heart rate and accelerometry measurements. We assessed body fat percentage, waist circumference, blood glucose, serum insulin, plasma lipids and lipoproteins and blood pressure and calculated a cardiometabolic risk score using population-specific Z-scores and a formula waist circumference + insulin + glucose + triglycerides -HDL cholesterol + mean of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. We analysed data using multivariate linear regression models. Results: Total PA was inversely associated with the cardiometabolic risk score (β = −0.135, p = 0.004), body fat percentage (β = −0.155, p < 0.001), insulin (β = −0.099, p = 0.034), triglycerides (β = −0.166, p < 0.001), VLDL triglycerides (β = −0.230, p < 0.001), VLDL cholesterol (β = −0.168, p = 0.001), LDL cholesterol (β = −0.094, p = 0.046) and HDL triglycerides (β = −0.149, p = 0.004) and directly related to HDL cholesterol (β = 0.144, p = 0.002) adjusted for age and gender. Unstructured PA was inversely associated with the cardiometabolic risk score (β = −0.123, p = 0.010), body fat percentage (β = −0.099, p = 0.027), insulin (β = −0.108, p = 0.021), triglycerides (β = −0.144, p = 0.002), VLDL triglycerides (β = −0.233, p < 0.001) and VLDL cholesterol (β = −0.199, p < 0.001) and directly related to HDL cholesterol (β = 0.126, p = 0.008). Watching TV and videos was directly related to the cardiometabolic risk score (β = 0.135, p = 0.003), body fat percentage (β = 0.090, p = 0.039), waist circumference (β = 0.097, p = 0.033) and systolic blood pressure (β = 0.096, p = 0.039). Resting was directly associated with the cardiometabolic risk score (β = 0.092, p = 0.049), triglycerides (β = 0.131, p = 0.005), VLDL triglycerides (β = 0.134, p = 0.009), VLDL cholesterol (β = 0.147, p = 0.004) and LDL cholesterol (β = 0.105, p = 0.023). Other types of PA and SB had less consistent associations with cardiometabolic risk factors.
BMC Public Health, 2009
Background: Identifying leisure time activities performed before and after school that influence time in physical activity (PA) and/or time spent sedentary can provide useful information when designing interventions aimed to promote an active lifestyle in young people. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between mode of transportation to school, outdoor play after school, participation in exercise in clubs, and TV viewing with objectively assessed PA and sedentary behaviour in children. Methods: A total of 1327 nine-and 15-year-old children from three European countries (Norway, Estonia, Portugal) participated as part of the European Youth Heart Study. PA was measured during two weekdays and two weekend days using the MTI accelerometer, and average percent of time in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and time spent sedentary were derived. Potential correlates were assessed by self-report. Independent associations between self-reported correlates with percent time in MVPA and percent time sedentary were analysed by general linear models, adjusted by age, gender, country, measurement period, monitored days and parental socioeconomic status. Results: In 9-year-olds, playing outdoors after school was associated with higher percent time in MVPA (P < 0.01), while participation in sport clubs was associated with higher percent time in MVPA (P < 0.01) in 15-year-olds. No associations with percent time sedentary were observed in either age group. Conclusion: Frequency of outdoor play after school is a significant correlate for daily time in MVPA in 9-year-olds, while this correlate is attenuated in favour of participation in sport and exercise in clubs in 15-year-olds. Targeting walking to school or reduced TV viewing time in order to increase time in daily MVPA in children is unlikely to be sufficient. Correlates related to time spent sedentary need further examination.