Abstract
There is substantial evidence of rising prevalence of overweight and obesity and its co-morbidities among children in western-high income developed countries. In the European Union, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing fastest among Polish children. Yet, there is paucity of evidence on the relationship of behavioral factors with body weight status of children in Poland. This study examined the association of obesity with physical fitness, physical activity, sedentary behavior and diet among Polish children. A total of 641 children (10–15 years) recruited from the Lower Silesia region of Poland participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants’ anthropometrics, physical fitness, physical activity, sedentary behavior and dietary intake were assessed. Outcome variables were weight categories (according to body mass index [BMI], waist-to-hip ratio [WHR], and percentage body fat [% BF]). The strongest negative correlation was found between VO2max and %BF (r = −0.39, p <0.05). Significant negative correlation was also found between VO2max and weight categories (r = −0.15). Results of the multinomial logit analysis showed that VO2max increased in groups of overweight, normal weight and underweight children by 13%, 26% and 19%, respectively as compared to the group of obese children. VO2max and weight and obesity indices were strongly correlated in both gender and age groups. Education and intervention programs to increase physical fitness (VO2max) through aerobic training are recommended for Physical Education teachers, parents and children in order to reduce the rate of overweight and obesity among children in the Lower Silesia region of Poland.
Highlights
A number of public health studies have indicated that obesity is a complex but rapidly growing global epidemic which affects children and adults [1,2]
We examined the roles of diet, physical fitness, sedentary behavior and physical activity patterns in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among school children in the Lower
It is worth emphasizing that we focused on a behavioral perspective, i.e., on factors or health-related attributes that may be associated with the prevalence of overweight and obesity
Summary
A number of public health studies have indicated that obesity is a complex but rapidly growing global epidemic which affects children and adults [1,2]. Contrary to documented evidence in the last fifty years, both developed and developing nations are experiencing increasing multidimensional trends in childhood overweight and obesity [3]. A recent estimate indicates that 43 million children (35 million in developing countries) are either overweight or obese, and 92 million are at risk of being overweight [4]. An upward trend in the global estimate of childhood overweight and obesity. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 664; doi:10.3390/ijerph14060664 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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