Underweight children are agile but lack power

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nutrition
• Sports Medicine
• Child Development

Background:

• Undernutrition is a significant global health issue impacting child development.
• Limited research exists on the specific effects of undernutrition on physical fitness components like muscular power and agility in school-aged children.
• Assessing physical fitness in underweight children is crucial for understanding their motor competence and long-term health trajectory.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the physical fitness, specifically agility, muscular endurance, and muscular power, between underweight and normal-weight school-aged children.
• To investigate the relationship between different grades of thinness and physical fitness parameters.
• To identify potential disparities in motor competence related to nutritional status in children.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 853 school-aged children (mean age 9.2 years).
• Children were categorized into normal weight and underweight groups based on BMI-for-age-and-sex z-scores.
• Physical fitness, including agility, muscular endurance, and power, was assessed using the Performance and Fitness test battery (PERF-FIT).

Main Results:

• Underweight children exhibited significantly better agility (p=0.012) and muscular endurance (p=0.004) compared to normal-weight children.
• Underweight children demonstrated lower muscular power, evidenced by shorter overhead throwing distances (p=0.017) and reduced standing long jump peak power (p<0.001).
• A significant inverse relationship was observed between the grade of thinness and standing long jump peak power (p=0.027).

Conclusions:

• Underweight children possess enhanced agility and muscular endurance but compromised muscular power relative to their normal-weight counterparts.
• The findings underscore a critical need to address muscular strength deficiencies in underweight children.
• Interventions targeting muscular strength are essential for ensuring these children meet fundamental physical activity requirements for a healthy lifestyle.