Physical activity, leisure habits and obesity in first-grade children

BackgroundOverweight and obesity are already on the rise in early childhood years. The relationships between genetic factors, malnutrition and physical inactivity are the underlying mechanisms. In this study, we examine the association between body indices, motor abilities and active (sport) and passive (television/computer) leisure time activities in a cohort of first-grade pupils.MethodsThe study group consisted of 344 children (51.5% male, 48.5% female). They were 6.8 ± 0.4 years old, height was 123.9 ± 4.9 cm, weight 24.8 ± 5.0 kg, body mass index (BMI) 16.1 ± 2.3 kg/m2. After determination of the anthropometric data, a fitness test was performed in order to determine motor abilities. Parents were questioned about their children's leisure time activities, using a standardized questionnaire. Differences between BMI groups were evaluated using multivariate ANCOVA, adjusted for gender and age.ResultsBased on German BMI references, overweight and obesity were found in 12% of the children. They had poorer ...