Maintenance of traditional cultural orientation is associated with lower rates of obesity and sedentary behaviours among African migrant children to Australia

Background: Migrants from developing to developed countries rapidly develop more obesity than the host population. While the effects of socio-economic status on obesity are well established, the influence of cultural factors, including acculturation, is not known.Objective: To examine the association between acculturation and obesity and its risk factors among African migrant children in Australia.Design and participants: A cross-sectional study using a non-probability sample of 3- to 12-year-old sub-Saharan African migrant children. A bidimensional model of strength of affiliation with African and Australian cultures was used to divide the sample into four cultural orientations: traditional (African), assimilated (Australian), integrated (both) and marginalized (neither).Main outcome measures: Body mass index (BMI), leisure-time physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours (SBs) and energy density of food.Results: In all, 18.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): 14&ndash;23%) were overweight and 8.6% (95% CI: 6&ndash;12%) were obese. After adjustment for confounders, integrated (&szlig;=1.1; P&lt;0.05) and marginalized &szlig;(=1.4; P&lt;0.01) children had higher BMI than traditional children. However, integrated children had significantly higher time engaged in both PA (&szlig;=46.9, P&lt;0.01) and SBs (&szlig;=43.0, P&lt;0.05) than their traditional counterparts. In comparison with traditional children, assimilated children were more sedentary (&szlig;=57.5, P&lt;0.01) while marginalization was associated with increased consumption of energy-dense foods (&szlig;=42.0, P&lt;0.05).Conclusions: Maintenance of traditional orientation was associated with lower rates of obesity and SBs. Health promotion programs and frameworks need to be rooted in traditional values and habits to maintain and reinforce traditional dietary and PA habits, as well as identify the marginalized clusters and address their needs.<br /

Should public health interventions aimed at reducing childhood overweight and obesity be gender-focused?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Overweight in childhood is a major public health concern that calls for immediate preventative action. An increasing number of reports suggest that gender specific approaches to prevention may be more effective. However, there is a paucity of information to guide gender-sensitive health promotion and population health interventions for the prevention of overweight in childhood. In the present study, we sought to determine gender-differentials in overweight and underlying behaviors, nutrition and physical activity, among pre-adolescents in Alberta, Canada, to inform the discussion on gender-focused interventions for chronic disease prevention.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 2008, we surveyed 3421 grade five students and their parents of 148 randomly selected schools. Students completed the Harvard food frequency questionnaire, questions on physical activities, and had their height and weight measured. Parents completed questions on socio-economic background and child's lifestyle. We applied multilevel regression methods to assess gender differentials in overweight, nutrition and physical activity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, the prevalence of overweight was slightly higher among boys (29.1%) than girls (27.9%) with more pronounced differences in towns and urban geographies. Boys reported to be much more physically active relative to girls (OR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.73-2.60). Diets of boys, relative to those of girls, reportedly constituted more fat and were less likely to meet the recommendation of 6 daily servings of vegetables and fruits (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.71-0.93).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings confirm the existence of gender differences in physical activity and nutrition, and support gender-focused health promotion whereby priority is given to physical activity among girls and to healthy eating among boys.</p

Monitoring activities of teenagers to comprehend their habits: study protocol for a mixed-methods cohort study

Abstract: Background: Efforts to increase physical activity in youth need to consider which activities are most likely to be sustained over time in order to promote lifelong participation in physical activity. The Monitoring Activities of Teenagers to Comprehend their Habits (MATCH) study is a prospective cohort study that uses quantitative and qualitative methods to develop new knowledge on the sustainability of specific physical activities. Methods/design: Eight hundred and forty-three grade 5 and 6 students recruited from 17 elementary schools in New Brunswick, Canada, are followed-up three times per year. At each survey cycle, participants complete self-report questionnaires in their classroom under the supervision of trained data collectors. A sub-sample of 24 physically active students is interviewed annually using a semi-structured interview protocol. Parents (or guardians) complete telephone administered questionnaires every two years, and a health and wellness school audit is completed for each school. Discussion: MATCH will provide a description of the patterns of participation in specific physical activities in youth, and enable identification of the determinants of maintenance, decline, and uptake of participation in each activity. These data will inform the development of interventions that take into account which activities are the most likely to be maintained and why activities are maintained or dropped

Eating disorder symptoms and the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism: Mixed perfectionism is the most maladaptive combination

Purpose: The 2 × 2 model of perfectionism (Gaudreau & Thompson, 2010) represents an important addition to the perfectionism literature, but so far has not been studied in relation to disordered eating. Method: Using the 2 × 2 model as analytic framework, this study examined responses from a convenience sample of 716 participants aged 19-68 years (71% female) investigating how self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) and socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) predicted individual differences in eating disorder symptoms, additionally controlling for body mass index, gender, and age. Results: Results showed a significant SOP × SPP interaction indicating that the combination of high SOP and high SPP--called “mixed perfectionism”--was associated with the highest levels of eating disorder symptoms. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the utility of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism as an analytic framework for examining perfectionism and disordered eating. Moreover, they suggest that mixed perfectionism is the most maladaptive form of perfectionism, when it comes to disordered eating, such that having high levels of SPP combined with high levels of SOP represents the most maladaptive combination of perfectionism in terms of risk of eating disorder

Physical activity and fitness in 8-year-old overweight and normal weight children and their parents

Objectives: To compare the physical fitness and physical activity of 8-year-old overweight children (n = 53) to normal weight children (n = 65), and to determine whether a significant relationship exists between physical activity of parents and their children. Study design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 119 children from Northern Finland were recruited for the study. Waist circumference, height, weight and BMI were measured. Physical activity of the children and their parents was determined with self-administered 7-day recall questionnaires (PAQ-C). Physical fitness of the children was evaluated with 7 items of the EUROFIT-test battery (flamingo balance test, plate tapping, sit-and-reach test, sit-ups, bent arm hang and 10&#x00D7;5 shuttle run). Aerobic capacity of the children was tested with 6-minute walking test. Results: Overweigh was related to impaired performance in tests requiring muscle endurance, balance, explosive power of lower extremities, upper body strength and endurance, speed and agility in both genders and aerobic capacity in boys. Physical activity levels of overweight boys (2.41 SD 0.72) were lower than their lean counterparts (2.91 SD 0.64, p = 0.004); no such difference was observed in girls (2.53 SD 0.64 vs. 2.59 SD 0.68, p = 0.741). Physical activity was significantly associated with better performance in several physical fitness tests in boys, but not in girls. Mothers&#x2019; physical activity was associated with children&#x0027;s physical activity (r = 0.363, p &#60; 0.001), but no such association was found between fathers and children (r = 0.019, p = 0.864). Conclusion: This study shows an inverse relationship between excess bodyweight and physical fitness in children. Mother-child relationship of physical activity appeared to be stronger than father-child relationship. Improving physical fitness in children through physical activity might require interventions that are responsive to the ability and needs of overweight children and their families and focus on helping parents and children to be physically active together