Preditores da atividade física e dos indicadores de saúde em crianças da cidade de Aracaju-SE

Abstract

Introduction: Physical activity (PA) and health are expressed by the interaction between individual and behavioural factors, the relevance of considering different variables when investigating the predictors of the mentioned phenotypes. Such investigation during childhood can provide a basis for possible inferences in childhood health with future impact in adulthood. Objective: To identify the predictors of PA and health indicators, and their relationships, in children. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, whose sample comprised 145 children (86 girls, 59 boys), aged 7-8 years, from 5 public schools located in, Siqueira Campos, Novo Paraíso, Cidade Nova, and Jardim Centenário in Aracaju, state of Sergipe. Body weight and height were measured, and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated, with children classified as normal-weight or overweight. PA was estimated using the Baecke questionnaire. Sociodemographic information (age, gender, family income), waist circumference, and blood pressure, birth weight and gestational age were collected. Risk score, considering blood pressure and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), was calculated. The normality of data distribution was verified using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Comparisons for variables according to gender were performed using the t-test for independent samples, U Mann-Whitney test, and chisquare test ( 2 ). Logistic and linear regression models were computed to identify predictor of PA and health risk indicators, respectively. A significance level of 95% was considered. Results: With regard to BMI, 28.2% of girls and 32.3% of boys were classified as overweight and 25.6% and 20.3% were classified as “at risk”, using the RCE, respectively. The prevalence of low birth weight was low (4.7% girls, 3.4% boys), and most of the sample had an income of up to one minimum wage (61,6% girls, 59,3% boys). For PA, boys had slightly higher values than girls, although this difference was not statistically significant. Regarding the predictors of PA and health risk, of the predictors included in the models, none proved to be a significant predictor for the variables in the studied sample. Conclusion: Although no significant results were found for the predictors PA and health risk indicators in the studied sample, the results revealed moderate prevalence of overweight among children, as well as low PA values. Such results should be viewed with caution and strategies should be planned with the aim of promoting increases in PA in this public, as well as monitoring the nutritional status of children, thus enabling a protective effect against non-communicable diseases.