Physical activity and sedentary behavior among different BMI groups of Lithuanian first-formers

Abstract

Background/Aims: Data of first formers presented (n=3254) was collected while participating in the fifth round of WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative in 2019. Methods: Anthropometric measurements were performed in 95 schools, and the estimated BMI was assessed according to the IOTF (2000) cut-offs. Family questionnaire was used for evaluation of physical activity and sedentary behavior. Chi-square test was used to analyze dependence between two nominal variables, Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare quantitative not normally distributed data in independent groups. Results: Most of children (91.3% on workdays and 98.8% on weekends) were physically active more than 1 hour during their leisure time. The average time spent by first-formers in sport or dance clubs was 3.35 hours per week (SD=1.9, Me=3). Half (51.6%) of the first-formers did sports for 2-3 hours per week, one third (22.3%) – 4 and more hours per week (p=0.010). There were no gender differences in clubs’ attendance. A significantly higher proportion of children attending sport or dance clubs had a normal body weight compared to those not attending clubs (72.5% and 66.0%, respectively). A significantly higher proportion of elevated weight children spend 3 or more hours sitting in front of screens on workdays compared to normal weight first-formers (46.0% and 36.7%, respectively) (table 1). The same trend was observed on weekends (77.1% and 69.9%, respectively). […].