Inactivity Not Calories Makes Kids Fat

Posting Date: 04/13/2004

?There?s often too much emphasis on what people consume and not on how much energy they?re expending during a given day,? said Patrick. ?Our study points to the importance of examining both sides of the energy balance equation when considering the population-wide increase we?ve seen in overweight in this age group in the past couple of decades. Insufficient physical activity and too much time spent on sedentary behaviors like computer games and watching TV may equal, and even exceed, diet quality as important contributors to overweight in adolescence.?

To assess physical activity, the researchers used an accelerometer, a small device worn on a belt that stores data on amount and level of physical activity every minute for a week. The investigators found that both girls and boys in the normal-weight group participated in two to four more minutes per day of vigorous physical activity than those in the at-risk and overweight group. However, only boys showed a statistical difference between groups for minutes per day of moderate physical activity.

?Although this is a seemingly small difference, these adolescents are getting four to 12 minutes of vigorous activity daily and this type of activity burns a lot of energy,? Patrick said.

He noted that the findings illustrate a particular need for increased exercise by all girls and improved interventions with Hispanic girls that takes into account social and cultural aspects that may impact weight.

Recruiting adolescents from the practices of 45 primary care physicians in six San Diego County clinics, the investigators found that 45.7 percent of the 878 children were either at risk for becoming overweight, or were already classified as overweight by the standard body mass index (BMI) for age. The sample was diverse with approximately 42 percent of participants from ethnic backgrounds, primarily Hispanic.

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