Obesity, adiposity, physical fitness and activity levels in cree children

Abstract

Objectives. To describe the levels of obesity, adiposity measures, physical activity and fitness in Cree children aged 9-12 years. Study Design. Cross-sectional survey. Methods. The study took place in northern Quebec, Canada. Height, body mass, waist circumference and five skinfold thicknesses were measured. Physical activity was assessed by having children wear a pedometer for two days. Children performed the 20-metre shuttle run test (SRT) to determine their physical fitness level. Results. Of 82 participating children, 33% were overweight (but not obese) and 38% were obese according to an international reference. The mean sum of five skinfold measures exceeded the 95th percentile of Canadian children. Compared with the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the majority of children exceeded the 85th percentile for waist circumference (62%) and at the suprailiac (80%), subscapular (72%), and triceps (54%) skinfold sites. 90% of children scored below the 20th percentile in the SRT compared with normative data from Quebec children. Based on pedometer scores, only 49% of children were sufficiently active. Conclusions. There is a high prevalence of overweight and central adiposity in this population, with low physical activity and fitness levels. This profile may result in adverse health outcomes.

Central adiposity and associated lifestyle factors in Cree children

“…Chronic diseases such as heart disease and T2D disproportionately affect First Nations in Canada (Health Canada 2003) and T2D is a significant health problem for both First Nations and Native American Indians (Burrows et al 2000;Young et al 2000). Aboriginal 2 populations often accumulate fat in the abdominal region (Katzmarzyk and Malina 1998;Gallo et al 2007) and have high rates of adult and childhood obesity (Katzmarzyk and Malina 1998;Hanley et al 2000;Willows 2005;Ng et al 2006;Willows et al 2007). Children with CA are predisposed to the MetS (Freedman et al 1999a(Freedman et al , 1999bMaffeis et al 2001aMaffeis et al , 2001bMaffeis et al , 2003Rodriguez-Moran et al 2004;Esmaillzadeh et al 2006), which may explain why Aboriginal children are vulnerable to metabolic abnormalities (Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus 2003; Kaler et al 2006;Retnakaran et al 2006).…”

“…The average age of diagnosis of T2D among Cree is 42 years, with almost half (47%) of Cree being diagnosed before the age of 40 years (Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay 2008). Obesity is common in Cree preschool and school children (Ng et al 2006;Willows et al 2007), and based on skinfold thicknesses, Cree school children have a high prevalence of truncal adiposity (Ng et al 2006). Given the young age at which T2D develops in the Cree population, we investigated the prevalence of obesity and CA using waist girth in Cree school children.…”

The association of demographic variables and dietary habits on body mass index of foreign-born population in South Korea

“…However, Rauner et al [21] stated in their review that the relationship between physical activity and BMI is not often clear as the definitions and measurement instruments (questionnaire, accelerometer, and activity monitor) are different from one study to another. Their assessment was confirmed by different authors who detected a relationship between objectively measured physical activity and overweight [22], and others who did not find any relationship between overweight and objectively measured physical activity [23,24].…”

The Ethnoepidemiology of Obesity

“…In a study conducted among Cree children (n=112, grades 4-6), physical activity level was measured using pedometers during two school days and only 49% were sufficiently active (12,000 steps/day for girls and 15,000 steps/day for boys) [60]. Data collected during the CCHS (cycle 2.2, 2004) showed that 47% of aboriginal youth (12-17 years) spent ≥ 15 hours/week watching TV during the previous three months [8].…”