The relationship between physical activity, physical fitness and fatness in 3-6 years old boys and girls: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Physical activity (PA), fatness and fitness in children and teenagers have been associated with short and long-term health benefits. However, little research analyzing these variables focuses on the preschool education stage. Thus, the objective of this research is to study the relationship between PA, fatness and fitness in 3-6 years old boys and girls. Methods: This cross-sectional study includes 150 boys and girls at age between 3 and 6 years. Fatness and fitness were assessed using a PREFIT (FITness testing in PREschool children) battery as well as the sit and reach test. PA levels were measured using accelerometers for 7 days. Results: Higher PA levels were related to better fitness values. In addition, differences were found in the PA levels between boys and girls. However, PA subcomponents were not related to fatness. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in fitness tests between underweight, normal-weight and over-weight children, except in handgrip strength. Conclusions: The few studies that have analyzed the relationship between fatness, fitness and PA in preschool have revealed controversial results. However, our study is in accordance with the majority of studies which prove that PA is associated with better fitness performances in preschool children. Since fitness is an important indicator of health, schools and parents should encourage children to practice more daily PA, especially girls, who are less active than boys. However, the discrepancy about the relationship between PA and fatness between the results of the different research highlights the necessity of carrying out further studies that analyze the relationship between these 3 variables separately in each age group (3, 4, 5 and 6 years). This is due to the fact that associations were stronger in older children rather than in younger children.

High-Intensity Interval Training and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Children: A Meta-analysis.

CONTEXT: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been widely used to prevent and treat cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents and adults; nevertheless, the available evidence in children is scarce. OBJECTIVE: To synthesize evidence regarding the effectiveness of HIIT interventions on improving cardiovascular risk factors and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in children from 5 to 12 years old. DATA SOURCES: We searched 5 databases, Medline, Embase, SPORTDiscus, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness of HIIT interventions on cardiometabolic risk factors and CRF in children were included. DATA EXTRACTION: Meta-analyses were conducted to determine the effect of HIIT on body composition, cardiometabolic and CRF variables in comparison with nontraining control groups. RESULTS: A total of 11 RCTs and 512 participants were included. The results of the meta-analysis revealed a significant improvement in peak oxygen uptake (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.28 to 1.12; P = 0.001], in total cholesterol [SMD = -1.09, 95% CI = -1.88 to -0.30; P = 0.007], in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [SMD = -1.28, 95% CI = -2.34 to -0.23; P = 0.017] and triglycerides [SMD = -0.71, 95% CI = -1.15 to -0.28; P = 0.001) levels. LIMITATIONS: Because of the small number of available RCTs, it was not possible to conduct a subgroup analysis or a linear meta-regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: HIIT is a feasible and time-efficient approach for improving CRF, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides levels in children.

Homeostasis Model Assessment cut-off points related to metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of cut-off points of Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA-IR) to determine metabolic syndrome (MetS) in children and adolescents. A literature search was conducted in MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, Web of Science, Proquest, and Scopus databases from their inception to June 2018. Random effects models for the diagnostic odds ratio (dOR) value computed by Moses' constant for a linear model and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to calculate the accuracy of the test. Hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curves (HSROC) were used to summarize the overall test performance. Six published studies were included in the meta-analysis that included 8732 children and adolescents. The region of HOMA-IR (i.e., dOR) associated with MetS range from 2.30 to 3.54. The pooled accuracy parameters from the studies that evaluated the diagnostic odds ratio of HOMA-IR ranged from 4.39 to 37.67.Conclusion: the HOMA-IR test may be useful for early evaluating children and adolescents with insulin resistance (IR). Furthermore, they present a good diagnostic accuracy independently of the definition of MetS used. According to the studies, the HOMA-IR cut point to avoid MetS risk ranged from 2.30 to 3.59.What is Known:• There is no consensus to define the optimal cut-off point of Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance in children and adolescents associated with Metabolic Syndrome.What is New:• The Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance test may be useful for early evaluations in children and adolescents with insulin resistance and presents a good diagnostic accuracy independently of the definition of Metabolic Syndrome used.• The Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance cut point to avoid Metabolic Syndrome risk ranged from 2.30 to 3.59.

Levels and Patterns of Objectively Assessed Physical Activity and Compliance with Different Public Health Guidelines in University Students.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) is associated with health enhancement. The aim of this study was to assess: 1) levels and patterns of PA in university students by using accelerometers; and 2) the percentage of fulfilment of PA recommendations for adults, according to different public health guidelines. METHODS: Observational cross-sectional study (Cuenca's Adults Study) involving 296 (206 women) healthy Spanish university students aged 18-25 years old. Participants wore the ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer for seven consecutive days. Total PA, steps and time spent in sedentary time, light, moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) was assessed, and the prevalence of sufficient PA was calculated according to various public health guidelines. RESULTS: No sex differences in total PA were found. University students were more sedentary during weekend days than weekdays (p<0.05). Only 30.3% of participants accumulated 30 min/day at least five days a week of MVPA. A total of 5.4% of students met the recommendation of 150 min/week of MVPA or 75 min/week of vigorous PA, in PA bouts of at least 10 min. using the same definition, but on five or more days a week, only 0.5% students were found to meet the recommendation. In addition, only 0.5% of students met the recommendation of 30 min/day of MVPA, at least five days a week and in bouts of at least 10 min. Finally, 28.1% of the students met the recommendation of 10,000 steps/day. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows a high incidence of sedentary time in university students. The number of students meeting PA recommendations significantly differed depending on the recommendation proposed. Specific strategies to promote PA in this population are necessary as well as an agreement as to which PA guidelines should be used.

Actividad física y calidad de vida relacionada con la salud en escolares / Physical activity and quality of life in relation to the health in schoolars

Objetivo. Analizar la relación entre niveles de actividad física autorreferida y diferentes dimensionesde la Calidad de Vida Relacionada con la Salud (CVRS) en escolares.Diseño. Mediciones basales de un ensayo de campo aleatorizado por clusters.Emplazamiento. 22 colegios de la provincia de Cuenca.Sujetos: 1074 escolares de 4º y 5º curso de Educación Primaria.Mediciones principales. CHIP-CE, un cuestionario validado en castellano con 45 ítems en 5 dimensiones:satisfacción (satisfacción con la propia salud y la autoestima), bienestar (síntomas físicos y psicológicos y limitación de actividades), resistencia (factores protectores contra futuros problemas de salud), riesgos (conductas que potencialmente atentan contra salud del niño/a) y funciones (rendimiento académico e influencia positiva de los pares). Los ítems 13 (¿Cuántos días has hecho juegos de moverse mucho o deporte?) y 28 (¿Cuántos días has corrido mucho mientras jugabas o hacíasdeporte?) sirvieron para valorar los niveles de actividad física (AF) en las 4 semanas anteriores a laentrevista.Resultados. Mediante un modelo lineal multivariante – MANOVA - con las dimensiones de la CVRSdel CHIP-CE como variables dependientes, frecuencia en la práctica de actividad física autopercibida–sedentario, actividad media y activos- como factor fijo y la edad como co-variable, se observarondiferencias estadísticamente significativas (p<0,0001) en las dimensiones satisfacción, resistencia, riesgos y funciones. No se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la media de la dimensión bienestar por niveles de AF.Conclusiones. Los niños más activos no se diferencias de los menos activos en cuanto a los síntomas ni a las limitaciones que perciben, y sí en cuanto a su autoestima, en cuanto a cómo protegen su salud y evitan riesgos, y en cuanto a su rendimiento académico

Objective. To analyze the interrelationship between self-reported physical activity levels and differentdomains of health related to quality of life (HRQOL) for schoolchildren.Design. Basal measurement of a field trial randomized by clustersSetting. 22 schools from Cuenca Province (Spain).Subjects. 1074 primary schoolchildren aged from 8 to 11 years old.Main measurement. CHIP-CE: a validated Spanish questionnaire with 45 item belonging to five domainsof health status: Satisfaction (with self and health), Comfort (emotional and physical symptoms andlimitations), Resilience (positive activities that promote healthy habits), Risk Avoidance (risky behavioursthat influence future health), and Achievement (of social expectation in school and with peers). The 13th(How often did you play active games or sport?) and 28th (How often did you run hard to play or practicesports?) helped us to know the amount of physical exercise that students practiced in the 4 weeks priorto the interview.Results. By multivariate linear model –MANOVA- with HRQOL domains of the CHIP-CE as dependentvariables, physical activity levels–sedentary, average activity and active- as fixed factors and age asco-variables, significant statistical differences were observed in satisfaction, resilience, risk avoidanceand achievement, though no statistical significant differences were observed in comfort’s average forlevels of physical activity.Conclusions. Active children are no different to the less active in symptoms and limitation, but have adifferent perception in selfsteem, risk avoidance and health protection and academic performance