Abstract
Pedometers have been used in some studies to measure physical activity in adolescents. However, cutoff points of steps per day that classify physical activity levels are not yet fully established. The aims of this study were to identify the possibility the number of steps/day to predict cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescents and to propose cutoff points to the number of steps/day for adolescents. Method: 1,045 adolescents (51.7 % girls) aged 11-17 were randomly selected. The number of steps/day was measured using pedometers. The risk factors considered were total cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, skinfold thickness and body mass index. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was used to analyze data. Results: ROC curve results indicated that the number of steps/day was able to predict increased systolic blood pressure in boys (<16,134 steps/day; p=0.006), increased diastolic blood pressure in girls (<12,399 steps/day; p=0.023) and increased total cholesterol in both sexes (<11,788 steps/day for boys; p=0.016 and < 9,400 steps/day for girls; p=0.001). Conclusion: It is possible to identify adolescents that are more likely to have increased total cholesterol and blood pressure by the number of steps/day.
Highlights
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide and future estimation indicates that these diseases will continue to be the main cause of mortality in the coming decades (World Health Organization, 2008)
Not having their parentsauthorization, not attending on the day of data collection or failing to bring the consent form signed on the date set, 236 students did not participate in data collection, totaling 1,064 schoolchildren
The results indicated a high prevalence of overweight and obesity, increased adiposity and increased systolic blood pressure (SBP)
Summary
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide and future estimation indicates that these diseases will continue to be the main cause of mortality in the coming decades (World Health Organization, 2008). In population studies, involving children and adolescents, questionnaires have been the most widely used instrument to measure physical activity. In this type of measurement, the most used classification and currently accepted measure is the sum of minutes in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Pedometers have been an option adopted by some authors (Dollman, Olds, Esterman & Kupke 2010; Le Masurier et al 2005) This instrument has acceptable validity and reproducibility for the estimation of physical activity (Mckee, Boreham, Murphy & Nevill 2005; Oliver, Schofield, Kolt & Schluter 2007), bringing an alternative objective of measuring this variable in children and adolescents. Considering these characteristics, pedometers offers a practical, low cost and easy universal interpretation way for an objective measurement of physical activity in free-living environments
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