Abstract
Lower levels of physical activity are associated with an increased overall cardiometabolic risk, as well as the risk or being overweight. It is difficult to determine the optimal level of physical activity that protects the needs of children and young people. Studies on the required number of steps, as well as approximating the daily volume of physical activity, are gaining increasing credibility in research and practice. Researchers propose a "rule" of ≥ 11,500 steps per day, for children and teenagers of both sexes. The aim of the study was to assess whether 11,500 steps a day is sufficient to maintain normal blood pressure among children and adolescents. 1002 children and adolescents aged 4–15 were included in the study. To assess physical activity, measured in the number of steps per day, the Actigraph accelerometer wGT3X-BT was used. The normal number of steps was defined as greater than or equal to 11,500 steps per day for children and teenagers, for both girls and boys. In the entire study group, a significantly lower risk of hypertension was observed when the number of steps was normal (OR is 0.45 and the upper confidence limit for OR is 0.71). The study confirmed the beneficial protective role of physical activity against hypertension in older children and adolescents. However, it should be emphasized that no such relationship has been demonstrated in the case of preschool children. The presented norms of the number of steps should be promoted to the wider community to make prevention of cardiovascular diseases even more effective.
Highlights
Lower levels of physical activity are associated with an increased overall cardiometabolic risk, as well as the risk or being overweight
Primary hypertension (PHT), which may already develop in children, has become a significant world-wide health problem as it constitutes one of the important risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction and stroke, atherosclerosis and chronic kidney disease in a dulthood[1,2]
The effects of its deficiencies usually manifest themselves after many years, and due to many factors affecting the health and development of the child it cannot always be proved that insufficient physical activity is the main cause of emerging health problems
Summary
Lower levels of physical activity are associated with an increased overall cardiometabolic risk, as well as the risk or being overweight. It is difficult to determine the optimal level of physical activity that protects the needs of children and young people. Studies on the required number of steps, as well as approximating the daily volume of physical activity, are gaining increasing credibility in research and practice. The aim of the study was to assess whether 11,500 steps a day is sufficient to maintain normal blood pressure among children and adolescents. The study confirmed the beneficial protective role of physical activity against hypertension in older children and adolescents. It is difficult to determine the optimal level of physical activity, i.e. that which protects the health of children and young people. One of the mechanisms of the beneficial effect of physical exertion is microRNA modulation This plays an important role in regulating gene expression, including of those genes responsible for hypertension. Changes in the cardiovascular system caused by the inflammatory mechanism are dependent on microRNA-1557
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