Children from low-income families have a higher incidence for developing early onset cardio-metabolic disease risk factors. Optimal levels of health-related fitness may attenuate risk, but little research has examined...Children from low-income families have a higher incidence for developing early onset cardio-metabolic disease risk factors. Optimal levels of health-related fitness may attenuate risk, but little research has examined its relationships with individual cardio-metabolic blood markers in low-income children. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of unfavorable cardio-metabolic blood profiles in children from low-income families. Data were collected and analyzed on 124 children (mean age = 10.4 ± 0.9 years;57 girls, 67 boys;97% Hispanic) recruited from three urban Title I schools from the state of Utah in the US Health-related fitness. Measures were collected using the validated FITNESSGRAM fitness test battery. The Cholestech LDX system was used to analyze students’ total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides (TRI), and blood glucose (BG). Capillary blood samples via finger sticks were collected while each student was in a fasted state before school hours. Unfavorable measurements were defined as TC ≥ 200 mg/dL, LDL ≥ 130 mg/dL, HDL 150 mg/dL, and BG ≥ 100 mg/dL (pre-diabetes). Approximately 5.3% of the total sample had unfavorable TC, 16.7% had unfavorable HDL, 16.0% had unfavorable LDL, 15.2% had unfavorable TRI, and 25.4% had unfavorable BG (pre-diabetes). Pearson’s chi-square tests revealed no significant differences between sexes on any unfavorable classification after alpha level adjustment (p > 0.01). When all parameters were analyzed as continuous variables, Spearman’s rank correlation revealed a statistically significant linear relationship between aerobic fitness and LDL in boys (rs = -?0.65, p - 0.46, p < 0.01), and between BMI and BG in girls (rs = 0.56, p < 0.01). Aerobic fitness relates to LDL cholesterol in low-income boys and BMI relates to HDL cholesterol and BG in low-income girls.展开更多
Background: Physical activity throughout the school day may help reduce the risk of childhood obesity. Semi-structured recess is a unique approach to create more physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study...Background: Physical activity throughout the school day may help reduce the risk of childhood obesity. Semi-structured recess is a unique approach to create more physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the physical activity and enjoyment of urban school children during traditional unstructured recess and semi-structured recess. Method: Children from the Southwestern US (N = 165) wore a NL-1000 piezoelectric accelerometer during their 15-minute lunch recess. Children participated in both their traditional unstructured (no structure and no equipment) recess and semi-structured (organized games and equipment) recess. An enjoyment scale was completed after both types of recess formats. Results: During unstructured recess, children accumulated 1028 ± 356 steps and 4.59 ± 2.2 minutes of MVPA compared to 1156 ± 434 steps and 5.44 ± 2.76 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during semi-structured recess. Paired sample t-tests revealed that children took significantly more steps (t = 𕒸.98;p < 0.001) and MVPA (t = 𕒹.940;p < 0.001) during semi-structured recess. No significant differences were found for enjoyment (p = 0.847) between recesses. Conclusions: It is important for schools to consider creative, semi-structured recess opportunities to increase step counts and time in MVPA (while maintaining enjoyment) and reinforce recess as an important component of a comprehensive school physical activity program.展开更多
Background: Decreasing the risk of overweight and obesity from an early age is imperative and efforts should focus on fostering children’s physical activity (PA). Within school-based interventions, there is insuffici...Background: Decreasing the risk of overweight and obesity from an early age is imperative and efforts should focus on fostering children’s physical activity (PA). Within school-based interventions, there is insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of the use of character peer-modeling and goal setting to increase physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a school-based intervention on PA and enjoyment of PA in grades 3 - 5 elementary school age children at two urban elementary schools. Methods: Participants were 95 students of 8 - 10 years old;activity monitors were used to assess physical activity. Daily physical activity and enjoyment was recorded at baseline, intervention, and at a 6-school-week follow-up. Results: PA significantly increased in the intervention school averaging 5549 steps at baseline, 5889 steps during the intervention, and 6515 during follow-up (p Conclusion: The Fit “n” Cool Kids intervention presents the potential of peer-modeling and goal setting for increasing PA at school. Continued interventions in schools may positively influence children’s healthy living patterns.展开更多
文摘Children from low-income families have a higher incidence for developing early onset cardio-metabolic disease risk factors. Optimal levels of health-related fitness may attenuate risk, but little research has examined its relationships with individual cardio-metabolic blood markers in low-income children. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of unfavorable cardio-metabolic blood profiles in children from low-income families. Data were collected and analyzed on 124 children (mean age = 10.4 ± 0.9 years;57 girls, 67 boys;97% Hispanic) recruited from three urban Title I schools from the state of Utah in the US Health-related fitness. Measures were collected using the validated FITNESSGRAM fitness test battery. The Cholestech LDX system was used to analyze students’ total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides (TRI), and blood glucose (BG). Capillary blood samples via finger sticks were collected while each student was in a fasted state before school hours. Unfavorable measurements were defined as TC ≥ 200 mg/dL, LDL ≥ 130 mg/dL, HDL 150 mg/dL, and BG ≥ 100 mg/dL (pre-diabetes). Approximately 5.3% of the total sample had unfavorable TC, 16.7% had unfavorable HDL, 16.0% had unfavorable LDL, 15.2% had unfavorable TRI, and 25.4% had unfavorable BG (pre-diabetes). Pearson’s chi-square tests revealed no significant differences between sexes on any unfavorable classification after alpha level adjustment (p > 0.01). When all parameters were analyzed as continuous variables, Spearman’s rank correlation revealed a statistically significant linear relationship between aerobic fitness and LDL in boys (rs = -?0.65, p - 0.46, p < 0.01), and between BMI and BG in girls (rs = 0.56, p < 0.01). Aerobic fitness relates to LDL cholesterol in low-income boys and BMI relates to HDL cholesterol and BG in low-income girls.
文摘Background: Physical activity throughout the school day may help reduce the risk of childhood obesity. Semi-structured recess is a unique approach to create more physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the physical activity and enjoyment of urban school children during traditional unstructured recess and semi-structured recess. Method: Children from the Southwestern US (N = 165) wore a NL-1000 piezoelectric accelerometer during their 15-minute lunch recess. Children participated in both their traditional unstructured (no structure and no equipment) recess and semi-structured (organized games and equipment) recess. An enjoyment scale was completed after both types of recess formats. Results: During unstructured recess, children accumulated 1028 ± 356 steps and 4.59 ± 2.2 minutes of MVPA compared to 1156 ± 434 steps and 5.44 ± 2.76 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during semi-structured recess. Paired sample t-tests revealed that children took significantly more steps (t = 𕒸.98;p < 0.001) and MVPA (t = 𕒹.940;p < 0.001) during semi-structured recess. No significant differences were found for enjoyment (p = 0.847) between recesses. Conclusions: It is important for schools to consider creative, semi-structured recess opportunities to increase step counts and time in MVPA (while maintaining enjoyment) and reinforce recess as an important component of a comprehensive school physical activity program.
文摘Background: Decreasing the risk of overweight and obesity from an early age is imperative and efforts should focus on fostering children’s physical activity (PA). Within school-based interventions, there is insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of the use of character peer-modeling and goal setting to increase physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a school-based intervention on PA and enjoyment of PA in grades 3 - 5 elementary school age children at two urban elementary schools. Methods: Participants were 95 students of 8 - 10 years old;activity monitors were used to assess physical activity. Daily physical activity and enjoyment was recorded at baseline, intervention, and at a 6-school-week follow-up. Results: PA significantly increased in the intervention school averaging 5549 steps at baseline, 5889 steps during the intervention, and 6515 during follow-up (p Conclusion: The Fit “n” Cool Kids intervention presents the potential of peer-modeling and goal setting for increasing PA at school. Continued interventions in schools may positively influence children’s healthy living patterns.
