The association of physical activity and physical fitness with pre-adolescent obesity: an observational study in Metromanila, Philippines

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity has been inconsistently associated with decreased levels of physical activity and fitness. Moreover, little is known about this relationship among Filipino preteens.

Methods: This cross sectional study reports the association between childhood obesity, measures of physical activity, and fitness. Children aged 11 to 12 from randomly selected schools from San Juan, Metromanila were included. Outcome measures were body mass index, Filipino modified Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older children (F_PAQ-C), standing broad jump, 50 m sprint and 20 m multistage shuttle run.

Results: 380 children participated in the study. Obese children had significantly lower median scores in the F_PAQ-C compared with overweight children. Overweight children had lower scores in the standing broad jump, 50 m sprints and predicted VO2max as compared with children with normal BMI. There were modest associations between the 50 m sprint, predicted VO2max, and F_PAQ-C.

Conclusion: Our study has showed that physical activity and fitness scores were strongly correlated with childhood obesity. If childhood physical fitness is a predictor of physical fitness in adulthood which is a risk factor in cardiovascular diseases, there is a strong possibility that the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in the Philippines will increase dramatically in the future.