Physical Activity, Physical Fitness and Overweight in Early Schoolchildren

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate physical activity and physical fitness levels in children 7-8 years old with different body mass index (BMI). Methods: Eighty nine children (age 7.6 ± 0.4) participated in this study. BMI was used as obesity indicator and children were categorized in normal-weight and overweight/obese groups. Daily physical activity was assessed by RT3 accelerometer (Stayhealthy Inc, Monrovia, CA) and physical fitness was assessed using the European physical fitness test battery (Eurofit). Results: Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated no significant differences in the average daily total counts of physical activity and in scores of four fitness tests between the overweight/obese and normal-weight group (p>0.05). However, boys were significantly more physically active than girls (p<0.05) and the level of physical activity was higher on weekdays than on weekend for both BMI groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results indicate that physical activity is not the main contributing factor for childhood overweight at this age. Sufficient levels of daily physical activity were also shown to lead in good physical performance.