Physical Activity Levels and Energy Expenditure of 9-Year-Old - 12-Year-Old Overweight and Obese Children

The high occurrence of overweight and obesity amongst children is a disturbing health problem worldwide. Possible causes of increasing childhood obesity are inactivity and energy imbalances. The aim of this study was to analyse the total energy expenditure (TEE) and physical activity levels in 9-year-old - 12-year-old overweight and obese children during a weekday and a weekend day; as well as during a weekday morning and afternoon. Twenty-four 9-year-old - 12-year-old children (seven boys and 17 girls); of whom nine were overweight and 15 were obese; were selected from seven public primary schools for this study. Body mass index (BMI) cut-off points were used to distinguish between overweight and obese. Each participant wore an ACTICALT monitor to determine their physical activity levels and TEE. It was found that the TEE of the children did not differ between a week day and a weekend day; although the TEE of the week day afternoon differed significantly from that of the weekday morning. Unlike the overweight children; none of the obese children met the requirements of 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per day. Strategies should be found to increase the activity levels of overweight and; especially; obese children; specifically during the mornings and over weekends

Relationships between Overweight; Obesity and Physical Fitness of Nine- 12-Year-Old South African Children

Background: South African children show the same tendencies in overweight and obesity as children in developed countries a decade ago. Childhood overweight is associated with chronic diseases; early mortality in adulthood and psycho-social effects with lifelong consequences. This study aimed to determine relationships between overweight; obesity and physical fitness of nine- to twelve-year-old South African children. Methods: Anthropometric (body-mass index [BMI]; fat percentage) and physical fitness (cardiovascular endurance; body composition; muscle strength; muscle endurance; flexibility) measurements were obtained from 280 children aged nine to twelve years (128 boys; 152 girls) using the Fitnessgram and Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency II. International cut-off points were used to categorise children into normal-weight; overweight or obese categories. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics; Spearman rank order correlation and variance of analysis. Results: One in five children was overweight or obese; while girls were twice as likely as boys to be obese. Aerobic capacity and muscle strength; especially leg strength; decreased progressively with an increase in BMI. A progressive but nonsignificant decline was found in muscle endurance with increasing BMI; while flexibility showed the poorest relationships with various degrees of weight. Variance of analysis indicated significant relationships between BMI; cardiovascular endurance and strength (p 0.05); while different relationships were found when gender was taken into consideration. Conclusions: Health-enhancing physical fitness of young children is negatively affected by overweight and obesity; and intervention strategies are recommended to improve the quality of life of such childre;n but also to prevent early mortality during adulthood