Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate the differences in objectively measured physical activity and in self-reported physical activity between overweight and normal-weight children.MethodsData from a prospective cohort study including children, presenting at the participating general practices in the south-west of the Netherlands, were used. Children (aged 4–15 years) were categorized as normal-weight or overweight using age- and sex specific cut-off points. They wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for one week to register physical activity, and filled out a diary for one week about physical activity.ResultsA total of 57 children were included in this study. Overweight children spent significantly less percentage time per day in sedentary behavior (β − 1.68 (95%CI -3.129, − 0.07)). There were no significant differences in percentage time per day spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (β 0.33 (− 0.11, 0.78)). No significant differences were found between children of normal-weight and overweight in self-reported measures of physical activity.ConclusionsOverweight children are not less physically active than normal-weight children, which may be associated with the risen awareness towards overweight/obesity and with implemented interventions for children with overweight/obesity.
Highlights
The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in objectively measured physical activity and in self-reported physical activity between overweight and normal-weight children
The aim of this study is to describe potential differences between children with overweight and children of normal-weight in objectively measured and self-reported physicalactivity
24% had a family with a low socio-economic status and in 19% of the children, at least one parent was born in another country than the Netherlands
Summary
The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in objectively measured physical activity and in self-reported physical activity between overweight and normal-weight children. Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the twenty-first century, according to the World Health Organization [1]. To fight the childhood obesity epidemic, and promote other health benefits, Previous literature states that children with overweight and obesity are less physically active than children of normal-weight based on objective data of accelerometers [3, 4]. These studies are conducted over 10 years ago, while since several initiatives have been launched to reduce overweight and obesity.
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