Parent-Offspring Correlations in Pedometer-Assessed Physical Activity

Physical activity is a major component of a healthy lifestyle in youth and adults. To identify determinants of this complex behavior is an important research objective in the process of designing interventions to promote physical activity at population level. In addition to individual determinants, there is evidence documenting familial influences on physical activity. However, the few studies that have addressed this issue with objective measures did not provide data on parent-offspring physical activity relationships throughout childhood and adolescence. The purpose of this study was to assess familial correlations in pedometer-assessed physical activity.We measured ambulatory activity in 286 French nuclear families (283 mothers, 237 fathers, and 631 children aged 8-18 years) by pedometer recordings (Yamax Digiwalker DW 450) over a week. Correlations were computed with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) for spouse pairs, siblings, mother-offspring, and father-offspring. Data were expressed as steps per day and computed both for the full recording period and separately for weekdays and weekends.The correlations were the highest between siblings (r=0.28, 95%CI: 0.17-0.38). Parent-offspring correlations were significant in mothers (r=0.21, 95%CI: 0.12-0.30), especially between mothers and daughters (r=0.24, 95%CI: 0.12-0.36 vs. r=0.18, 95%CI: 0.05-0.31 for sons), but were almost nonexistent in fathers. Correlations were generally higher on weekend days compared to weekdays. Mother-offspring correlations did not decrease with increasing age of children (r=0.17, 95%CI: 0.00-0.34 in 8-11-year-olds, r=0.20, 95%CI: 0.07-0.33 in 12-15-year-olds, and r=0.25, 95%CI: 0.07-0.39 in ≥16-year-olds). Finally, between-spouse correlations were significant only during weekend days (r=0.14, 95%CI: 0.01-0.27).Ambulatory activity correlated within families, with a possible mother effect. Mother-offspring correlations remained significant through the transition from childhood to adolescence. Further studies are required to better understand the respective influences of shared activities, parental modeling and support as well as genetic factors on the familial aggregation of physical activity

Changer les portions alimentaires des enfants, la campagne VIF "Les Bonnes Portions"

Session spéciale "Le marketing pour changer les comportements alimentaires…en mieux !"National audienc

Changer les portions alimentaires des enfants, la campagne VIF "Les Bonnes Portions"

National audienc

Locally implemented prevention programs may reverse weight trajectories in half of children with overweight/obesity amid low child-staff ratios results from a quasi-experimental study in France

International audienceBackground: The aims of the present study were to assess changes in weight status between the first and last year of primary education among children with overweight/obesity in response to locally implemented school-based prevention programs, and to assess the influence of process indicators, expressed as child-staff ratios (CSRs), on these changes.Methods: To meet the study objectives, a quasi-experimental design was used. Four municipalities that systematically monitored the weight status of schoolchildren and participated in the "Vivons en Forme" program agreed to provide the data available in their school medical service records. The local implementers involved in training sessions were mainly municipal staff in charge of serving midday school meals, which is compulsory in France, and those in charge of designing and facilitating creative, interactive activities at school between and after classes. CSRs were determined by occupation (school catering service/facilitator of extracurricular activities) and training session (healthy eating/physical activity) in each municipality program, and classified as low (1-5 children per adult) or moderate.Results: During the 4 years of primary education, weight status improved in half of the children with overweight/obesity, and worsened in 6.6% of children with overweight/normal weight. In children who remained overweight, the BMI z-score diminished over time. Estimates of the positive 4-year weight changes were related to low CSRs in locally implemented variations of the program. Estimates increased with age and were significantly higher in low-to-moderate CSR multicomponent interventions than moderate CSR single-component intervention (reference). The moderate CSR multicomponent intervention had a similar effect as the reference. The estimated negative weight change decreased with age.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that training ancillary school staff in experiential-focused interventions for healthy eating and physical activity in locally implemented school-based programs contributed positively to reducing childhood obesity during the four years of primary education without interfering with educational activities. The results also provide preliminary evidence that low CSRs could be pivotal for optimal outcomes, especially in deprived areas

Reliability of bioimpedance analysis compared with other adiposity measurements in children: the FLVS II Study.: Bioimpedance fat measurement in children

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reproducibility of the measurement of% body fat by bipedal biometrical impedance analysis (BIA) compared with anthropometric measurements of adiposity in children and the correlations between these methods in children and adults.METHODS: A cross-sectional study in a total of 1080 adults and children enrolled in 1999 in the Fleurbaix-Laventie Ville Sant?I (FLVS II) population-based study in northern France. The reproducibility of anthropometrical and BIA methods was determined by a nested analysis of variance of repeated measurements by 2 investigators and a bipedal BIA device (Tanita TBF 310) in 64 pupils of two 5th grade classes. The correlation of BIA and anthropometric adiposity measurements with the unknown relative fat mass or volume of the body estimated by a latent adiposity variable (LAV) was established by the triads' method in 1080 subjects of the FLVS II cohort.RESULTS: The reproducibility was similar for the sum of skinfolds, waist circumference and BIA% fat measurements (intraclass correlation coefficients: 0.979-0.992). Correlation coefficient between BIA body fat% and the LAV was higher than 0.86 in all sex and Tanner stage related groups, and similar in children and adults, except in pubertal boys (0.76).CONCLUSION: With a high level of reproducibility, foot-to-foot BIA analysis provides a valuable measurement of total% fat for epidemiologic studies in children. However further studies are needed before extrapolating these results to overweight children

Growth curves of anthropometric indices in a general population of French children and comparison with reference data.

Background:The description of growth patterns of the different anthropometric measurements mainly used in epidemiological studies is useful to better understand the development of obesity in children and its consequences.Objective:Our aim was to establish growth curves of anthropometric indices in a general population of French children born during the 1980s and to compare them with the French reference curves based on children born in the 1950s.Design:As part of the Fleurbaix Laventie Ville Sant?tudies I and II (FLVS), 441 girls and 467 boys were examined at least twice between 1993 and 2001. Height, weight and four skinfold thicknesses were measured. Body mass index (BMI), sum of peripheral and truncal skinfolds and truncal-to-peripheral ratio were calculated. Mean growth curves from ages 5 to 17 years were assessed for these indices, calculating means and 95% confidence interval per 1 year age group and by gender.Results:Trajectories with age differed importantly according to the index considered; BMI was the one with the smallest difference between genders and the most linear shape with age. From the age of 5 years and after, the FLVS children were on average taller and had a higher subcutaneous adiposity than children born 30 years earlier. Truncal-to-peripheral ratio was higher in our population; this difference became more marked with puberty in girls.Discussion:This study suggests the existence of a secular trend towards a precocious accelerated growth, and a more truncal adiposity distribution, especially in girls. It is a disquieting trend considering its expected consequences on adult health.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition advance online publication, 5 July 2006; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602474

Pedometer counts (steps per day) (Fleurbaix-Laventie Ville-Santé II study).

<p>Values are daily medians and interquartiles.</p

Familial correlations for pedometer-assessed physical activity (Fleurbaix-Laventie Ville-Santé II study).

<p>Data are correlation coefficients (95%CI) of number of steps standardized for sex and age.</p><p>Maximal number of clusters because for each coefficient computation data could be missing.</p

Characteristics of the subjects (Fleurbaix-Laventie Ville-Santé II study).

<p>Values are expressed as mean ± standard deviation, or median and interquartiles. Data for leisure time and walking are from the Modifiable Activity Questionnaire.</p