Changes in fitness and fatness in Australian schoolchildren during the summer holidays: fitness lost, fatness regained? A cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Emerging evidence suggests that children's fatness increases and fitness declines at a greater rate during the summer holiday period, compared with the school year. The aim of this study was to compare rates of change in fitness and fatness over the in-term and summer holiday periods among Australian schoolchildren. A secondary aim was to explore whether rates of change differed according to the child's sex, socio-economic status (SES), pubertal status and weight status.

Methods

Children (n = 381) initially in Grade 4 (age 9) were recruited for this 2-year longitudinal study. Fatness (% body fat, BMI z-score, waist-to-height ratio) and fitness (20-m shuttle run and standing broad jump) were measured at the start and end of two consecutive years. Rates of change we

SUBMITTER: Olds T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10601165 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature