The Singapore Youth Coronary Risk and Physical Activity Study.

The purpose of this study was to examine coronary risk factors and physical activity patterns of primary and secondary school children in Singapore. Children 6-18 yr (730 boys, 849 girls) were evaluated for anthropometry, percent body fat, resting blood pressure, fasting plasma lipids and lipoproteins and glucose. A physical activity and leisure pursuits self-reported survey was used to group children into five categories ranging from "inactive" to "vigorous" activity. The self-reported questionnaire also recorded individual responses to exercise behaviors, leisure activities, and participation in organized games and sports. Body weight, body mass index (BMI; kg x m[-2]), and percent body fat were compared by age and gender. The blood analysis showed no significant differences in boys' and girls' plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations. Physical activity was significantly correlated with total cholesterol (rs = -0.13, P = 0.018) and triglycerides (rs = -0.18, P = 0.001) for boys and between physical activity with body fat (rs = -0.22, P = 0.0001) and BMI (rs = -0.16, P = 0.01) for girls. Height, weight, BMI, percent body fat, and blood pressure were greater for each age to 14 yr, after which there was less recorded body fat for boys. Girls' body fat remained about the same after 14 yr. Comparing by gender and age, significant differences were found between physical activity groups and total cholesterol and body fat. Although few children were at risk for heart disease, this study provides baseline coronary risk and physical activity data for further longitudinal analysis in this population.

Blood pressure, lipids, lipoproteins, body fat and physical activity of Singapore children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine body composition, coronary risk factors and physical activity and the inter-relationships of these variables in Singaporean school children. METHODOLOGY: This study examined 1681 children (784 boys and 897 girls) from eight primary and seven secondary schools to determine percentiles for body stature and composition, blood pressure, lipids/lipoproteins and blood glucose by gender for three age divisions. An exercise and leisure pursuit questionnaire was administered to ascertain self-reported physical activity patterns. Anthropometric data and blood pressure readings were taken. Capillary blood was drawn from each child via finger prick sampling following an overnight fast. The concentrations of total cholesterol (TCHOL), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and glucose (GLU) were determined from plasma using a dry chemistry analyser. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL) and the TCHOL/HDL-C ratio were determined by calculation. RESULTS: While 47.7% of boys and 22.0% of girls disclosed active lifestyles, differences between the active and non-active children were found in coronary risk factors TCHOL, LDL-C, TG, TCHOL/HDL-C and per cent body fat. No differences were shown between the two groups in HDL-C, GLU and blood pressure. There was a high correlation between the various measures of body composition with the highest correlation (r = 0.806, P < 0.001) found between body mass index (BMI) and waist measurements. CONCLUSIONS: Children in this study who reported no activity or relatively little activity were found to have TCHOL, LDL-C, TG, TCHOL/HDL-C and per cent body fat that were higher than those who reported moderately high or vigorous physical activity patterns.