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Decreased physical activity in Pima Indian compared with Caucasian children
A M Fontvieille1, A Kriska, E Ravussin
1Clinical Diabetes and Nutrition Section, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Phoenix, AZ 85016.
Insights
Pima Indian children exhibit higher body weight and fat percentage compared to Caucasian children. Lower physical activity levels in Pima boys correlate with increased body mass index and body fat.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric obesity
- Exercise science
- Anthropology
Background:
- Reduced physical activity is a potential risk factor for weight gain.
- Understanding ethnic differences in physical activity and body composition is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between physical activity and body composition in Pima Indian and Caucasian children.
- To compare physical activity levels and body composition between these two ethnic groups.
Main Methods:
- Study involved 43 Pima Indian and 42 Caucasian children (ages 9-10).
- Data collected on sport leisure activities, outdoor play, and television/video viewing.
- Body composition assessed via height, weight, and body fat percentage.
Main Results:
- Pima Indian children were significantly taller, heavier, and had higher body fat percentage than Caucasian children.
- Pima Indian girls reported lower physical activity and higher screen time than Caucasian girls.
- Pima Indian boys showed lower physical activity and a negative correlation between physical activity and body mass index/body fat.
Conclusions:
- Pima Indian children have poorer body composition compared to Caucasian children.
- Lower physical activity levels, particularly in Pima Indian boys, are associated with increased adiposity.
Abstract:
Since reduced physical activity might be a risk factor for body weight gain, we studied the relationship between physical activity and body composition in 43 Pima Indian children (22 male/21 female, mean +/- s.d.: 9.9 +/- 1.1 years) and 42 Caucasian children (21 male/21 female, 9.7 +/- 1.2 years). A list of usual sport leisure activities was established (e.g. bicycling, swimming, basketball) and the subjects were asked how much time they had devoted to each activity over the past week and the last year. Data on time spent playing outside (excluding sport leisure activities for the estimation of physical activity) and watching television/videos were also collected. Pima Indians were taller (143 +/- 9 vs. 137 +/- 8 cm, P < 0.001), heavier (48.6 +/- 15.8 vs. 32.9 +/- 7.8 kg, P < 0.0001) and fatter (39 +/- 16 vs. 24 +/- 7% fat, P < 0.001) than Caucasians. Pima Indian girls showed significantly lower past year and past week sport leisure activity than Caucasian girls (P < 0.01) and spent significantly more time watching television/videos (P < 0.05). Pima boys also showed significantly lower past week sport leisure activity than Caucasian boys (P < 0.05). In Pima Indian boys, past year sport leisure activity correlated negatively (P < 0.05) with body mass index (r = -0.49) and percentage body fat (r = -0.56). However, such correlations were not found in Pima Indian girls, possibly due their very low levels of activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)