scholarly journals Physical activity and health in Chinese children and adolescents: expert consensus statement (2020)

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (22) ◽  
pp. 1321-1331
Author(s):  
Peijie Chen ◽  
Dengfeng Wang ◽  
Hongbing Shen ◽  
Lijuan Yu ◽  
Qian Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Consensus Statement ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Chinese Children ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Activity Promotion ◽  
Chinese Children And Adolescents

China is experiencing significant public health challenges related to social and demographic transitions and lifestyle transformations following unprecedented economic reforms four decades ago. Of particular public health concern is the fourfold increase in overweight and obesity rates in the nation’s youth population, coupled with the low prevalence of adolescents meeting recommended levels of physical activity. Improving the overall health of China’s more than 170 million children and adolescents has become a national priority. However, advancing nationwide health initiatives and physical activity promotion in this population has been hampered by the lack of a population-specific and culturally relevant consensus on recommendations for achieving these ends. To address this deficiency and inform policies to achieve Healthy China 2030 goals, a panel of Chinese experts, complemented by international professionals, developed this consensus statement. The consensus was achieved through an iterative process that began with a literature search from electronic databases; in-depth reviews, conducted by a steering committee, of the resulting articles; and panel group evaluations and discussions in the form of email correspondence, conference calls and written communications. Ultimately, the panel agreed on 10 major themes with strong scientific evidence that, in children and adolescents aged 6–17, participating in moderate to vigorous physical activities led to multiple positive health outcomes. Our consensus statement also (1) highlights major challenges in promoting physical activity, (2) identifies future research that addresses current knowledge gaps, and (3) provides recommendations for teachers, education experts, parents and policymakers for promoting physical activity among Chinese school-aged children and adolescents. This consensus statement aligns with international efforts to develop global physical activity guidelines to promote physical activity and health and prevent lifestyle-related diseases in children and adolescents. More importantly, it provides a foundation for developing culturally appropriate and effective physical activity interventions, health promotion strategies and policy initiatives to improve the health of Chinese children and adolescents.

Accelerometer-Assessed Habitual Physical Activity and Sedentary Time of Chinese Children and Adolescents with Visual Impairments

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 (5) ◽  
pp. 421-431
Author(s):  
Jing Qi ◽  
Wen Hong Xu ◽  
Li Juan Wang ◽  
Qi Di Li
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Sedentary Time ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Habitual Physical Activity ◽  
Chinese Children ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Chinese Children And Adolescents

Introduction: Physical activity is a key component of a healthy lifestyle for youths with visual impairments (i.e., blindness or low vision). This study aims to examine the habitual physical activity and sedentary time of Chinese children and adolescents with visual impairments and to determine whether age, gender, and body composition significantly influence their behavior. Methods: A purposeful sample method was utilized to recruit 137 Chinese youths with visual impairments from a special school for individuals with visual and hearing impairments. A total of 72 students with visual impairments (aged 7–17 years; M age = 13.4) participated in this study. ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers were used to measure the habitual physical activity and sedentary time. Results: Youths with visual impairments in this study spent an average of 287.86 (standard deviation [ SD] = 45.67) minutes of light physical activity, 146.79 ( SD = 56.95) minutes of moderate physical activity, 18.47 ( SD = 15.15) minutes of vigorous physical activity, 165.26 ( SD = 69.83) minutes of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity, and 979.51 ( SD = 109.10) minutes of sedentary time per day. Children with visual impairments in elementary school engaged in more habitual physical activity and had less sedentary time than did students in middle and high school. Differences in gender and body composition with regard to time spent being active or sedentary were insignificant. Discussion: Findings demonstrated that Chinese youths with visual impairments in this study had sufficient health-enhancing physical activity and were habitually active. Future research is needed to identify the factors that account for the high habitual physical activity levels of Chinese youths with visual impairments. Implications for practitioners: Transition planning for students with visual impairments to facilitate active habitual physical activity participation when children grow up is warranted.

scholarly journals Body Mass Index of children and adolescent participants in a voucher program designed to incentivise participation in sport and physical activity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Owen ◽  
B Bellew ◽  
Bridget C Foley ◽  
Adrian Bauman ◽  
Lindsey J Reece
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Multinomial Regression ◽  
Disadvantaged Area ◽  
Activity Promotion ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Background There has been limited population-level success in tackling overweight and obesity. The Active Kids program is a state-wide intervention that aims to increase participation in organised physical activity and sport among children and adolescents in NSW, Australia. This study profiled children and adolescents who registered for the Active Kids program by examining the prevalence of overweight and obesity across subgroups and by social disadvantage in this sample. MethodsFor participating children, each parent or carer was required to complete an online registration form with information about the child’s height, weight, physical activity, sport participation, age, sex, primary language spoken at home, Aboriginality, disability status and postcode. Descriptive statistics were used to profile children and adolescents who registered in the program and multinomial regression models were used to determine which demographic characteristics were associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity. Results In 2018, 671,375 parents registered a child or adolescent for the Active Kids Program. Among these children and adolescents, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 17.2% and 7.6%, respectively. A large number of children and adolescents who lived in the most disadvantaged area (n = 99,583; 14.8%) registered for the program. There was a clear socio-economic gradient for obesity prevalence across areas of increasing disadvantage, with children and adolescents living in the most disadvantaged area being 1.87 (95% CIs 1.82, 1.93) times more likely to be overweight or obese compared with children and adolescents living in the least disadvantaged area. Conclusions The Active Kids program successfully reached a substantial proportion of overweight and obese children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, providing financial support and opportunities for these children to participate in organised sport and physical activity. However, the program did not reach all children, and additional physical activity promotion strategies may be needed in a comprehensive approach. Nonetheless, these findings support government investment in reaching childhood overweight and obesity with large-scale programs.

scholarly journals Low Diagnostic Accuracy of Body Mass Index-Based and Waist Circumference-Based References of Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Identifying Overfat among Chinese Children and Adolescents

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiyang Chen ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Lin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Childhood Obesity ◽  
Waist Circumference ◽  
Diagnostic Accuracy ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Chinese Children ◽  
Childhood Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Chinese Children And Adolescents

This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of body mass index- (BMI-) based and waist circumference- (WC-) based references for childhood overweight and obesity in screening overfat individuals among 2134 Chinese children and adolescents. In this study, overfat status was defined as over 25% body fat for boys and over 30% for girls. Childhood obesity or overweight was defined by four BMI-based references and two WC-based references. All BMI-based references for obesity showed low sensitivity (SE) (0.128–0.473) but high specificity (SP) (0.971–0.998) in detecting overfat individuals in the current population. SE values increased from 0.493 to 0.881 when BMI- and WC-based references for overweight were used to detect overfat individuals. All references for overweight showed high SP rates (0.816–0.966). To improve diagnostic accuracy for childhood obesity, further studies may define a cut-off value for childhood obesity specific for a local population and ethnicity by using health-related overfat data.

scholarly journals Relationship Between National Economic Development and Body Mass Index in Chinese Children and Adolescents Aged 5–19 From 1986 to 2019

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Te Bu ◽  
Stevo Popovic ◽  
Huiqing Huang ◽  
Tao Fu ◽  
Jovan Gardasevic
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Chinese Children ◽  
Economic Expansion ◽  
National Economic ◽  
National Economic Development ◽  
Chinese Children And Adolescents

Obesity represents a major risk factor for population health. No studies have evaluated how economic expansion impacts the prevalence of obesity. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between national economic development and body mass index (BMI) in Chinese children and adolescents. Data of mean BMI in children and adolescents aged 5–19 from 1986 to 2019 were extracted from an international database of cardiometabolic risk factors. Chinese economic development was quantified by the gross domestic product (GDP), which was extracted from the International Monetary Fund. The relationships between GDP and BMI were assessed in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. In addition, the linear regression from the main data and estimated GDP growth allowed the projections of mean BMI for each age group between 2020 and 2025. The results suggest there was a linear increase in BMI over years, which means that there has been a steady increase in BMI over the economic expansion. Overall, 97% of the variance (Pearson correlation coefficient) of BMI in boys can be explained by the GDP expansion, and the same pattern (98% of the variance) occurred in girls. Projected mean BMI were provided for constructing future national strategies to prevent overweight and obesity in youth. In conclusion, BMI in children and adolescents aged 5–19 trended upwards between 1986 and 2019. Our analyses for the first time suggest that globalization has a major impact on BMI in China. Economic expansion was highly predictive of BMI increases.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior among Chinese Children and Adolescents: Variations, Gaps, and Recommendations

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 3066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hejun Shen ◽  
Jin Yan ◽  
Jin-Tao Hong ◽  
Cain Clark ◽  
Xian-Nan Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Sedentary Behavior ◽  
Chinese Children ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
Standardized Measurement ◽  
National Prevalence ◽  
Chinese Children And Adolescents

Physical-activity (PA) and sedentary-behavior (SB) assessment is of particular importance in the promotion of health in young people. However, there is no comprehensive overview of PA and SB from national surveys among Chinese children and adolescents. Following a literature search for Chinese national health surveys, 11 papers from six national surveys were found. Of the included studies, the majority applied self-reported questionnaires to estimate the prevalence of PA and SB. Owing to different definitions of the prevalence of PA and SB and various measures, a large variation in prevalence of PA and SB was observed. Such variations were attributable to methodological and practical issues. This study highlights the current gaps in estimating the national prevalence of PA and SB among Chinese children and adolescents, which should be addressed. To improve the quality of PA and SB surveillance, standardized measurement protocols to estimate the prevalence of PA and SB more accurately among Chinese children and adolescents are urgently required.

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