ABSTRACT
Objective@#The present study aims to investigate the association of functional exercise performance and pulmonary function in obese children, and to provide a reference for improving motor ability of obese children.@*Methods@#A total of 55 obese (obese group) and 57 healthy children with normal body weight (control group) were enrolled and pulmonary function as well as functional exercise performance were determined by spirometry and six-minute walk test (6 MWT), respectively.@*Results@#The 6 MWT distance (6MWD) in obese group was lower than that of control group [obese group (546.1±67.9)m, control group (610.4±70.1)m, P<0.01]. In terms of pulmonary function parameters, forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) and forced mid-expiratory flows (FMEF) were lower in the obese group than control group [FEV1: obese group (93.3±9.4)%, control group (99.5±16.4)%, P=0.02; FMEF: obese group (100.2±11.4)%, control group (109.4±19.1)%, P=0.002], whereas forced vital capacity (FVC), the FEV1/FVC ratio and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were not statistically different between the two groups. Partial correlation analysis revealed that among all parameters, only body mass index (BMI) was negatively associated with 6MWD(r=-0.31, P=0.03).@*Conclusion@#Functional exercise performance and pulmonary function of obese children deteriorates as compared to those of healthy children. BMI might be the independent predictor for functional exercise performance.