Characterization of the physical capacity in children of the Chilean national program of cystic fibrosis

Introduction: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited, progressive, multisystem disease. Better physical capacity may slow disease progression, thus improving prognosis and survival. The objective of this research was to evaluate the physical capacity of children admitted to the National CF Program of the Metropolitan Region, Chile. Patients and Method: A multicenter, cross-sectional study design was used. The inclusion criteria were children aged 6 to 12 years enrolled in the National CF Program; Tanner sexual maturity stage I, no respiratory exacerbations in the last 30 days, and no musculoskeletal pathologies. The maximum aerobic capacity was assessed through the peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) and determined with an incremental protocol in a magnetic cycle ergometer connected to an ergo-spirometer with which, at the same time, respiratory gases, oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production values every 30 seconds, anaerobic threshold, and maximum workload were analyzed. The values of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, and forced expiratory flows between 25% and 75% of vital capacity were assessed through ergo-spirometry. At the beginning of the ergo-spirometry, arterial oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, heart rate, blood pressure, tidal volume and the perception of lower extremity fatigue and dyspnea were recorded using the modified Borg scale. The test lasted approximately 10 minutes. Results: The clinical records of 43 children collected from six health centers were reviewed. Out of these, 29 children met inclusion criteria, and 23 were recruited. Two children were unable to participate, reducing the final subject group to 21 (13 males, 8 females). The mean age was 8.8 ± 2 years; weight 30.5 ± 10.9 kg; height 1.32 ± 0.11 m; and body mass index 17.1 ± 3.5 (z-score 0.01 ± 1.34). More than half of the children (61%) had normal weight. The obtained VO2 peak was 43.7 ± 6.5 ml/min/kg (106.7 ± 19.8% of the predictive values). Only 10% of the children had values lower than those predicted by sex and age. No correlations were found between VO2 peak and anthropometric and pulmonary function variables. Conclusion: Most of the evaluated children (90%) had physical capacity similar to healthy subjects by sex and age

Substituting sedentary time with physical activity domains: an isotemporal substitution analysis in Chile

Introduction: Sedentary behavior (SB), physical inactivity and obesity are main risk factors for non-communicable diseases. However, it is unknow whether reallocating SB time with physical activity (PA) domains related to travel, occupational and leisure activities is associated with lower levels of adiposity. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine independent associations and theoretical reallocations of SB and physical activity (PA) domains with obesity indicators in a nationally representative sample from Chile.. Methods: Randomly selected participants were enrolled in the 2009–2010 Chilean National Health Survey. Cross-sectional self-reported SB and PA domains were collected using the Global PA Questionnaire. Isotemporal substitution modeling was applied to examine the potential effects of reallocating 10 min/day of SB with occupational or travel or LTPA in relation to Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist Circumference (WC). Results: 3552 participants aged between 15 and 65 years [mean (standard deviation); age = 40.2 (14.07) years, BMI = 27.7 (5.38) kg/m2, WC = 91.2 (24.09) cm] reported an overall sitting time of 196.3 min/day and spent 15.4 min/day in LTPA. LTPA was negatively associated to both BMI and WC independently of SB. Substituting 10 min/day of SB with an equal amount of travel PA resulted in lower BMI (B = −0.033 95% CI: -0.055; -0.011) and WC (B = −0.089 95% CI: -0.172; -0.007) independent of sociodemographic variables and sleep time. Notably, the strongest association with obesity indicators was observed when SB time was reallocated for LTPA (BMI B = −0.080 95% CI: -0.122; -0.037) and WC: (B = −0.373 95% CI: -0.500; -0.245).. Conclusion: Replacing SB not only with LTPA but also travel PA appears to be favorably associated with lower levels of obesity indicators. Walking and cycling as part of our travel PA may be a more feasible way of increasing PA levels than moderate or vigorous intensities PA in the overall population, at lower costs and environmentally friendly