Cardiovascular risk and physical fitness: A study with children aged 7 to 10 in the metropolitan region of Vitória/ES
Name: RENATA CHÁCARA PIRES
Publication date: 24/07/2024
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| ERIKA CARDOSO DOS REIS | Examinador Externo |
| FABIANO KENJI HARAGUCHI | Examinador Interno |
| MARIA DEL CARMEN BISI MOLINA | Presidente |
| MIRIAM CARMO RODRIGUES BARBOSA | Coorientador |
Summary: Introduction: Cardiometabolic risk factors are on the rise, beginning in childhood and aggravating chronic diseases in adulthood. Excess weight, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle and low physical fitness accelerate the negative impact on health. Objective: To investigate the association of physical fitness, nutritional status, eating habits and lifestyle with cardiometabolic risk factors in children aged between 7 and 10 in the metropolitan region of Vitória, ES, based on the database of the Project “Prevention of Childhood Obesity in Primary Health Care: A community trial in the Metropolitan Region of Vitória/ES”. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out with children in Family Health Units, assessing sociodemographic, biochemical, anthropometric, hemodynamic, cardiorespiratory physical fitness (CRF), lifestyle and eating habits data. Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides (TG), fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, CRF (6-minute run/walk test) and nutritional status (NS) assessed by BMI/age were evaluated. Sedentary behavior was defined as screen time (TT) > 2h/day, metabolic risk by score and eating habits were analyzed by a food frequency questionnaire. Children were categorized by the combination of NS and CRF and also by TT and CRF. Bivariate analyses and regression models were carried out using SPSS software (p <0.05). Results: Around 65% of the children had low CRF and 59% were excess weight. After adjustment, the overweight and physically unfit group had a higher chance of low HDL. Excess weight children, fit or unfit, had a higher chance of high TG and 3 cardiometabolic factors grouped together, with almost double the chance for the unfit. There were higher odds of metabolic risk in children with physical activity < 1 hour/day (OR=1.936 [95%CI 1.14-3.26]; p=0.013) and screen time > 2 hours/day (OR=2.392 [95%CI 1.05-5.44]; p=0.038). Conclusion: Excess weight and physically unfit children were twice as likely to have high TG and three or more cardiometabolic risk factors. The metabolic risk was also higher in children with insufficient physical activity (<1h/day) and screen time above 2h/day. The results suggest the protective role of RFET, reduced TT and regular physical activity (1h/day) in children.
