A cross-sectional study on the relationship between the risk of hypertension and obesity status among pre-adolescent girls from rural areas of Southeastern region of the United States

Prevalence of obesity and hypertension in children and determination of associated factors by CHAID analysis

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of obesity and hypertension in children is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and increases the prevalence of heart failure and associated morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of obesity and hypertension, as well as the associated risk factors, in school-age children.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 21 schools in Antalya, Turkey. A total of 5160 students between the ages of 5 and 15 years participated in the study. The data were collected using a questionnaire, and students' height, weight, and blood pressure were measured. The data were evaluated using numbers, percentages, mean, and chi-squared automatic interaction detector (CHAID) analysis.

RESULTS

In all, 11.4% of children were overweight, 11.8% were obese, 6.8% had prehypertension, and 5.7% had hypertension. School level, school location, and father's educational status were determined as factors associated with overweight and obesity; BMI, school level, school location, and mother's working status were determined as factors related to hypertension in the children.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of hypertension, overweight, and obesity was found to be significantly high in the children, especially those living in rural areas. Therefore, it is recommended that these health issues be monitored in children and that necessary measures be taken by considering regional differences.

Associations between body composition and fundamental motor skill competency in children

Background

Evidence supports an inverse relationship between weight status and motor competence, but most work utilizes body mass index as the proxy for weight status. Body mass index fails to account for essential components of body composition, which may be critical for motor performance. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between fundamental motor skills competency and body composition (i.e., fat mass, fat percentage, and fatfree mass) as measured by bio-electrical impedance analysis and body mass index in children.

Methods

Two hundred forty-four children from the Southeastern portion of the United States participated in this project (6.05 ± 2.01 years, 53.3% male). Fundamental motor skills were measured using the Test of Gross Motor Development – 2nd edition and body composition was assessed with the Tanita SC-331S Body Composition Analyzer (bio-electrical impedance analysis). Body mass index was calculated using CDC normative growth charts.

Results

Bio-electrical impedance analysis measures accounted for 23.1%, F(3, 241) = 24.10, p < .001 and 2.7%, F(3, 241) = 2.22, p = .086 variance in locomotor and object control subscales, respectively; body mass index accounted for 8.4% (locomotor) and 0.1% (object control) variance. For the Test of Gross Motor Development -2nd edition total score, bio-electrical impedance analysis measures accounted for 24.4% F(3, 241) = 25.90, p < .001 compared to body mass index which accounted for 7.9% F(1, 244) = 20.86, p < .001 of the variance. Only fat free mass (p < .001) was a significant predictor for locomotor skills and total models for the Test of Gross Motor Development – 2nd edition; BMI was also a significant predictor (p < .001) in both the locomotor and total models.

Conclusions

Different components of body composition (i.e., fat free mass) were associated with different aspects of fundamental motor skills competency. Excess body fat may be a morphological constraint to proficient locomotor performance when transporting the body through space. In contrast, body composition did not significantly predict object manipulation performance. More work is needed to understand the causality and directionality of this relationship; however, bio-electrical impedance analysis accounts for more variance in fundamental motor skills performance than body mass index in a field-based setting.