JOURNAL OF TROPICAL PEDIATRICS, VOL. 60, NO. 2, 2014
Brief Report
Objectively Measured Habitual Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in Obese and Non-Obese Malaysian Children
Correspondence: Sharifah Wajihah Wafa, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Kota Campus, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Jalan Sultan Mahmud, 20400 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. Tel: þ60126911510, E-mail .
Summary The present study examined objectively measured physical activity in Malaysian children and compared the differences in physical levels between obese and healthy weight children. Eighty-six obese children were matched for age and sex with 86 healthy weight children with median age 9.5 years. Habitual physical activity and sedentary behaviour were measured over 5 days using Actigraph accelerometers. Time spent sedentary was significantly higher in the obese group (90% vs. 86% of daytime; p ¼ 0.001). Moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity was significantly higher in the healthy weight group (1.2 vs. 0.7% of daytime, p < 0.001). In both healthy weight and obese children, physical activity levels were exceptionally low, although moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity was significantly lower in the obese group than the healthy weight group. Efforts to prevent and treat obesity in Malaysian children will need a substantial focus on the promotion of reductions in sedentary behaviour and increases in physical activity. Key words: obesity, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, objective measurement, accelerometry.
Introduction There is global concern over physical activity levels of children [1], and new evidence that the obesity epidemic may be reducing physical activity levels [2]. Low physical activity probably increases obesity risk in children and adolescents [3], but obesity may in turn reduce physical activity [2]. Most, but not all, studies of habitual physical activity in children suggest that the obese are less physically active than their healthy weight peers [4–7], but studies comparing physical activity in obese vs. non-obese children have all come from Western societies. The present study therefore aimed to quantify objectively
Funding Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia.
measured habitual physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Malaysian children, and to test whether these variables differed between obese and healthy weight children. Subjects and Methods Study population Obese children [defined as body mass index (BMI) 95th centile] were participants in the Malaysian Childhood Obesity Treatment Trial (MASCOT), described in detail elsewhere [8, 9]. Children who were healthy weight (defined as BMI
Brief Report
Objectively Measured Habitual Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in Obese and Non-Obese Malaysian Children
Correspondence: Sharifah Wajihah Wafa, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Kota Campus, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Jalan Sultan Mahmud, 20400 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. Tel: þ60126911510, E-mail .
Summary The present study examined objectively measured physical activity in Malaysian children and compared the differences in physical levels between obese and healthy weight children. Eighty-six obese children were matched for age and sex with 86 healthy weight children with median age 9.5 years. Habitual physical activity and sedentary behaviour were measured over 5 days using Actigraph accelerometers. Time spent sedentary was significantly higher in the obese group (90% vs. 86% of daytime; p ¼ 0.001). Moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity was significantly higher in the healthy weight group (1.2 vs. 0.7% of daytime, p < 0.001). In both healthy weight and obese children, physical activity levels were exceptionally low, although moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity was significantly lower in the obese group than the healthy weight group. Efforts to prevent and treat obesity in Malaysian children will need a substantial focus on the promotion of reductions in sedentary behaviour and increases in physical activity. Key words: obesity, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, objective measurement, accelerometry.
Introduction There is global concern over physical activity levels of children [1], and new evidence that the obesity epidemic may be reducing physical activity levels [2]. Low physical activity probably increases obesity risk in children and adolescents [3], but obesity may in turn reduce physical activity [2]. Most, but not all, studies of habitual physical activity in children suggest that the obese are less physically active than their healthy weight peers [4–7], but studies comparing physical activity in obese vs. non-obese children have all come from Western societies. The present study therefore aimed to quantify objectively
Funding Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia.
measured habitual physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Malaysian children, and to test whether these variables differed between obese and healthy weight children. Subjects and Methods Study population Obese children [defined as body mass index (BMI) 95th centile] were participants in the Malaysian Childhood Obesity Treatment Trial (MASCOT), described in detail elsewhere [8, 9]. Children who were healthy weight (defined as BMI
