Tracking patterns of body mass index and triceps skinfold thickness from childhood to young adulthood: a 12-year prospective cohort study in Slovenia

OBJECTIVE: To examine tracking patterns of body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), height and weight from childhood to young adulthood in a rapidly developing society.DESIGN: Prospective 12-year cohort study of the Slovenian children, born during 1990-1991.SUBJECTS: A subsample of 4 833 Slovenian children from the 1990-1991 national cohort (n = 21 777) who were included in the SLOFIT monitoring system from 1997 to 2008, with complete data at age 7 and 18 y.MEASUREMENTS: Height, weight and TSF were measured at ages 7, 11, 14 and 18 y. The IOTF BMI cutoff points were used to identify overweight and obesity. RESULTS: Height, weight, and BMI at age 18 y were well predicted from childhood and grew more predictable with age, while TSF was not. Obese and overweight children had the greatest risk of becoming overweight or obese young adults, since tracking of overweight and obesity showed that 53.9% of overweight and 77.7% of obese 7-y old males remained overweight or obese at age 18 y in comparison with 32.1% of overweight and 62% of obese 7-y old females. History of obese 18-y olds showed that 40% of males and 48.6% of females had been obese already at age 7 y. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed the tracking of BMI from childhood to young adulthood. Overweight or obese Slovenian children are very likely to become overweight or obese adolescents and young adults, which calls for the need of early prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity

Akustika u školskim dvoranama i njezine implikacije na nastavu tjelesnoga odgoja

Due to the demanding acoustic conditions in physical education lessons and the related problems with health and academic success, the aim of this study was to examine the acoustic conditions of teaching in sport halls in Slovenia. Thirty-five sport halls were selected, reflecting four types of school sport halls grouped according to the period of their construction. The reverberation time was measured, and speech intelligibility was calculated by means of the Speech Transmission Index. Eighty-six per cent of the sport halls have poor or merely satisfactory speech intelligibility; statistically significant differences in acoustics were observed between different types of sport halls. The best acoustic conditions were found in the newer, multi-purpose sport halls, which allow three classes to be taught simultaneously; the worst conditions were observed in the older, single-class sport halls. The acoustics of the school sport halls should be improved, and the strain on the voice of the teachers should be reduced by means of a more suitable organisation of lessons and the use of information communication technology equipment.Zbog zahtjevnih akustičkih uvjeta u kojima se odvija nastava tjelesnoga odgoja, problemima po zdravlje i uspjeh učenika koje takvi uvjeti uzrokuju, cilj je ovoga rada bio istražiti akustičke uvjete u školskim dvoranama u kojima se u Sloveniji odvija nastava tjelesnoga odgoja. Odabrano je trideset i pet školskih dvorana koje su odražavale četiri tipa sportskih dvorana izgrađenih u različito vrijeme. Mjereno je vrijeme odjeka te je s pomoću Indeksa prijenosa govora izračunata vrijednost razumljivosti govora. Razumljivost govora loša je ili jedva zadovoljavajuća u osamdeset i šest posto sportskih dvorana. Pronađene su statistički značajne razlike u akustici prostora koji pripadaju različitim tipovima dvorana. Najbolje akustičke uvjete imaju višenamjenske sportske dvorane koje pružaju mogućnost simultanoga rada s trima skupinama učenika. Najlošije uvjete imaju starije sportske dvorane u kojima se u jednom vremenskom razdoblju može održavati nastava samo s jednom skupinom učenika. Potrebno je unaprijediti akustiku školskih sportskih dvorana, a napor koji trpi glas nastavnika umanjiti s pomoću primjerene organizacije nastave i opreme koju nude informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije

Fizička aktivnost, razine fizičke kondicije, dnevni unos energije i neke prehrambene navike 11-godišnjaka

The aim of this study was to analyse the relationships between energy intake, energy expenditure (physical activity), physical fitness, body mass index and certain eating habits (breakfast and snacks after 8 p.m.) of 11-year-old children. A cluster sample of 72 children (35 boys and 37 girls), aged 11.8 (±0.3) years was used for this purpose. The measurements took place during two weekdays and two weekend days. Physical activity (energy expenditure) was assessed with multiple-sensor body monitors (SenseWear Armband; BodyMedia Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, USA). Energy intake and frequency of breakfast and snacks after 8 p.m. were assessed using a self-report questionnaire (My Pyramid Tracker Tutorial; USDA, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, USA). Physical fitness levels were evaluated according to the results of the tests: sit-ups, bent arm hang, 600 m run and 20 m endurance shuttle-run using the Eurofit protocols and peak VO2, which was measured with a Cosmed K4b2 portable gas analyser. A Pearson correlation coefficient was used to test the correlations between observed variables, and a multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the influence of certain eating habits (breakfast - regular and occasional; snacks after 8 p.m. - occasional and never) on physical fitness according to sex and age. Mann-Whitney test was used to analyse the differences in in the central tendency between boys and girls. The results show that boys and girls, especially those with increased BMI, reported a one-third lower intake than reported in other studies. Girls were less physically active than boys. In both groups, the physical activity levels were higher during the week than on weekends, but the energy intakes were higher during the weekends. There were no statistically significant correlations between BMI and physical activity levels. BMI was significantly associated with all selected tests of physical fitness except the sit-ups test. The relationship between the frequency of the two observed meals, physical fitness and sex of the children was negligible. We can conclude that the assessment of energy intake using a self-report questionnaire is problematic in this age group, especially among those with higher BMI. The measurements of physical activity levels showed that children should be more active during weekends.Cilj istraživanja bio je analizirati odnos između unosa energije, potrošnje energije, fizičke aktivnosti i razine fizičke spremnosti, indeksa tjelesne mase te nekih prehrambenih navika (doručak i lagani obroci poslije 20.00 sati) kod 11-godišnjaka. Načinjen je klaster uzorak od sedamdeset i dvoje djece (35 dječaka i 37 djevojčica) u dobi od 11.8 (±0.3) godina. Mjerenje se održavalo dva radna dana i dva dana vikenda. Potrošnja energije i fizička aktivnost procijenjeni su višesenzornim tjelesnim monitorima (SenseWear Armband; BodyMedia Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, USA). Unos energije i učestalost doručka i laganih obroka poslije 20.00 sati procijenjeni su prema odgovorima sudionika u upitniku (My Pyramid Tracker Tutorial; USDA, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, USA). Razine fizičke spremnosti procjenjivane su prema rezultatima testova: podizanje trupa, izdržaj u visu, trčanje 600 m i izdržljivosti 20 m shuttle-run (korišten je Eurofit protokol), kao i prema rezultatima vršnog VO2 mjerenog prijenosnim sprirometrom Cosmed K4b2. Pearsonov korelacijski koeficijent korišten je kako bi se testirale korelacije među promatranim varijablama, a multivarijantna analiza varijance korištena je kako bi se testirale razlike među grupama prema njihovoj fizičkoj spremnosti, frekvenciji spomenutih obroka i spolu. Rezultati pokazuju da dječaci i djevojčice, posebno oni s povećanim indeksom tjelesne mase (ITM), imaju za trećinu manji unos nego što je to bilo u prijašnjim analizama. Djevojčice su manje fizički aktivne od dječaka. U obje grupe razine fizičke aktivnosti bile su veće tijekom tjedna nego u vrijeme vikenda, ali unos energije bio je veći u vrijeme vikenda. Statistički značajne korelacije između ITM i razina fizičke aktivnosti nisu uspostavljene. ITM je značajno povezan sa svim spomenutim testovima fizičke spremnosti, osim u slučaju trbušnjaka. Odnos između učestalosti spomenutih obroka, fizičke spremnosti i spola učenika nije bio statistički značajan. Možemo zaključiti da je procjena unosa energije i samoprocjene učenika u upitniku problematična za navedenu dobnu skupinu, posebno kod djece s povećanim ITM. Mjerenja fizičke aktivnosti ukazala su na to da bi učenici trebali biti aktivniji tijekom vikenda

WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative: body mass index and level of overweight among 6-9-year-old children from school year 2007/2008 to school year 2009/2010.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has established the Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) to monitor changes in overweight in primary-school children. The aims of this paper are to present the anthropometric results of COSI Round 2 (2009/2010) and to explore changes in body mass index (BMI) and overweight among children within and across nine countries from school years 2007/2008 to 2009/2010. METHODS: Using cross-sectional nationally representative samples of 6-9-year-olds, BMI, anthropometric Z-scores and overweight prevalence were derived from measured weight and height. Significant changes between rounds were assessed using variance and t-tests analyses. RESULTS: At Round 2, the prevalence of overweight (including obesity; WHO definitions) ranged from 18% to 57% among boys and from 18% to 50% among girls; 6 - 31% of boys and 5 - 21% of girls were obese. Southern European countries had the highest overweight prevalence. Between rounds, the absolute change in mean BMI (range: from -0.4 to +0.3) and BMI-for-age Z-scores (range: from -0.21 to +0.14) varied statistically significantly across countries. The highest significant decrease in BMI-for-age Z-scores was found in countries with higher absolute BMI values and the highest significant increase in countries with lower BMI values. The highest significant decrease in overweight prevalence was observed in Italy, Portugal and Slovenia and the highest significant increase in Latvia and Norway. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in BMI and prevalence of overweight over a two-year period varied significantly among European countries. It may be that countries with higher prevalence of overweight in COSI Round 1 have implemented interventions to try to remedy this situation

Physical activity, screen time and the COVID-19 school closures in Europe – an observational study in 10 countries

To date, few data on how the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions affected children’s physical activity in Europe have been published. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of physical activity and screen time from a large sample of European children during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform strategies and provide adequate mitigation measures. An online survey was conducted using convenience sampling from 15 May to 22 June, 2020. Parents were eligible if they resided in one of the survey countries and their children aged 6–18 years. 8395 children were included (median age [IQR], 13 [10–15] years; 47% boys; 57.6% urban residents; 15.5% in self-isolation). Approximately two-thirds followed structured routines (66.4% [95%CI, 65.4–67.4]), and more than half were active during online P.E. (56.6% [95%CI, 55.5–57.6]). 19.0% (95%CI, 18.2–19.9) met the WHO Global physical activity recommendation. Total screen time in excess of 2 h/day was highly prevalent (weekdays: 69.5% [95%CI, 68.5–70.5]; weekend: 63.8% [95%CI, 62.7–64.8]). Playing outdoors more than 2 h/day, following a daily routine and being active in online P.E. increased the odds of healthy levels of physical activity and screen time, particularly in mildly affected countries. In severely affected countries, online P.E. contributed most to meet screen time recommendation, whereas outdoor play was most important for adequate physical activity. Promoting safe and responsible outdoor activities, safeguarding P.E. lessons during distance learning and setting pre-planned, consistent daily routines are important in helping children maintain healthy active lifestyle in pandemic situation. These factors should be prioritised by policymakers, schools and parents. Highlights • To our knowledge, our data provide the first multi-national estimates on physical activity and total screen time in European children roughly two months after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. • Only 1 in 5 children met the WHO Global physical activity recommendations. • Under pandemic conditions, parents should set pre-planned, consistent daily routines and integrate at least 2-hours outdoor activities into the daily schedule, preferable on each day. Schools should make P.E. lessons a priority. Decision makers should mandate online P.E. be delivered by schools during distance learning. Closing outdoor facilities for PA should be considered only as the last resort during lockdowns

Childhood overweight and obesity in Europe: Changes from 2007 to 2017

The Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) routinely measures height andweight of primary school children aged 6–9 years and calculates overweight andobesity prevalence within the World Health Organization (WHO) European Regionusing a standard methodology. This study examines the trends in the prevalence ofoverweight and obesity from the first round of COSI carried out in 2007/2008 to thelatest of 2015/2017 in 11 European countries in which data were collected for atleast three rounds. In total 303,155 children were measured. In general, the preva-lence of overweight and obesity among boys and girls decreased in countries withhigh prevalence (Southern Europe) and remained stable or slightly increased in North-ern European and Eastern European countries included in the analysis. Among boys, the highest decrease in overweight (including obesity) was observed in Portugal (from40.5% in 2007/2008 to 28.4 in 2015/2017) and in Greece for obesity (from 30.5% in2009/2010 to 21.7% in 2015/2017). Lithuania recorded the strongest increase in theproportion of boys with overweight (from 24.8% to 28.5%) and obesity (from 9.4% to12.2%). The trends were similar for boys and girls in most countries. Several countriesin Europe have successfully implemented policies and interventions to counteract theincrease of overweight and obesity, but there is still much to be done.The authors gratefully acknowledge support through a grant from the Russian Government in the context of the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of NCDs. The Ministries of health of Austria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Norway, and the Russian Federation provided financial support for the meetings at which the protocol, data collection procedures, and analyses were discussed. Data collection in the countries included in this study was made possible through funding from: Bulgaria: Ministry of Health, National Center of Public Health and Analyses, and WHO Regional Office for Europe; Czechia: WHO grants AZV MZČR 17-31670 A MZČR-RVO EÚ 00023761, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, and WHO country office; Greece: International Hellenic University and Hellenic Medical Association for Obesity; Ireland: Health Service Executive; Italy: Ministry of Health and Italian National Institute of Health; Latvia: Ministry of Health and Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; Lithuania: Science Foundation of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Lithuanian Science Council, and WHO; Norway: Ministry of Health and Norwegian Institute of Public Health; Portugal: Ministry of Health Institutions, the National Institute of Health, Directorate General of Health, Regional Health Directorates, and the kind technical support from the Center for Studies and Research on Social Dynamics and Health (CEIDSS); Slovenia: Ministry of Education and Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia within the SLOfit surveillance system; and Spain: Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative: Impact of Type of Clothing Worn during Anthropometric Measurements and Timing of the Survey on Weight and Body Mass Index Outcome Measures in 6–9-Year-Old Children

Background. The World Health Organization European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) conducted examinations in 6–9-year-old children from 16 countries in the first two rounds of data collection. Allowing participating countries to adhere to their local legal requirements or adapt to other circumstances required developing a flexible protocol for anthropometric procedures. Objectives. (1) Review intercountry variation in types of clothing worn by children during weight and height measurements, clothes weight adjustments applied, timing of the survey, and duration of data collection; (2) assess the impact of the observed variation in these practices on the children’s weight or body mass index (BMI) outcome measures. Results. The relative difference between countries’ unadjusted and clothes-adjusted prevalence estimates for overweight was 0.3–11.5%; this figure was 1.4–33.3% for BMI-for-age Z-score values. Monthly fluctuations in mean BMI-for-age Z-score values did not show a systematic seasonal effect. The majority of the monthly BMI-for-age Z-score values did not differ statistically within a country; only 1–3 monthly values were statistically different within some countries. Conclusions. The findings of the present study suggest that the built-in flexibility in the COSI protocol concerning the data collection practices addressed in the paper can be kept and thus do not necessitate a revision of the COSI protocol.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influence of the quality implementation of a physical education curriculum on the physical development and physical fitness of children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study was constructed as a comparison group pre-test/post-test quasi-experiment to assess the effect of the implementation of the PE curriculum by specialist PE teachers on children's physical development and physical fitness.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>146 classes from 66 Slovenian primary schools were assigned to quasi-test (71) and quasi-control (75) groups. Data from the SLOFIT database was used to compare the differences in physical fitness and development between groups of children whose PE lessons were delivered by specialist PE teachers from the second grade onwards (quasi-test, n = 950) or by generalist teachers in all first three grades (quasi-control, n = 994). The Linear Mixed Model was used to test the influence of specialist PE teachers' teaching.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The quasi-control group showed significantly lower improvement of physical fitness by -0.07 z-score units (95% CI -0.12 to 0.02) compared to the quasi-test group. A significant difference of -0.20 (-0.27 to -0.13) was observed in explosive strength, and of -0.15 (-0.23 to -0.08) in running speed, and in flexibility by -0.22 (-0.29 to -0.14). No significant differences in physical development were observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Specialist PE teachers were more successful than generalist teachers in achieving greater improvement of children's physical fitness, but no differences were observed in physical development of quasi-test and quasi-control group.</p

Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: A pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants

© The Author(s) 2018. Background: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. Methods: We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probittransformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. Results: In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the highincome Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Conclusions: Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups

European fitness landscape for children and adolescents: updated reference values, fitness maps and country rankings based on nearly 8 million test results from 34 countries gathered by the FitBack network

OBJECTIVES (1) To develop reference values for health-related fitness in European children and adolescents aged 6-18 years that are the foundation for the web-based, open-access and multilanguage fitness platform (FitBack); (2) to provide comparisons across European countries. METHODS This study builds on a previous large fitness reference study in European youth by (1) widening the age demographic, (2) identifying the most recent and representative country-level data and (3) including national data from existing fitness surveillance and monitoring systems. We used the Assessing Levels of PHysical Activity and fitness at population level (ALPHA) test battery as it comprises tests with the highest test-retest reliability, criterion/construct validity and health-related predictive validity: the 20 m shuttle run (cardiorespiratory fitness); handgrip strength and standing long jump (muscular strength); and body height, body mass, body mass index and waist circumference (anthropometry). Percentile values were obtained using the generalised additive models for location, scale and shape method. RESULTS A total of 7 966 693 test results from 34 countries (106 datasets) were used to develop sex-specific and age-specific percentile values. In addition, country-level rankings based on mean percentiles are provided for each fitness test, as well as an overall fitness ranking. Finally, an interactive fitness platform, including individual and group reporting and European fitness maps, is provided and freely available online (www.fitbackeurope.eu). CONCLUSION This study discusses the major implications of fitness assessment in youth from health, educational and sport perspectives, and how the FitBack reference values and interactive web-based platform contribute to it. Fitness testing can be conducted in school and/or sport settings, and the interpreted results be integrated in the healthcare systems across Europe