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Excerpt
Methods: A cohort of 56 obese children aged 10 – 17 years, 25 post-obese active subjects (A), and 31 sedentary subjects (S) participated in the study. Body composition was assessed by DEXA. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure were measured before and immediately after a 4-minute-step-test at a rate of 92 steps/min. The effects of usual physical activity and sex on HR and blood pressure were tested by ANOVA. In addition, the step-test was performed in 43 other obese children aged 9–16 years, whose usual physical activity was estimated using a questionnaire for a week filled by the patient.
Results: There were no significant differences in body weight (77.9 ± 5.0 kg and BMI (29.1 ± 1.3 kg/m2) between groups A and S. Subjects of group A were older (14.5 vs 13.1 y) and taller (1.67 vs 1.59 m) with a lower percentage of fat mass (31.6 vs 34.0) than subjects of group S (p<0.05). The increase in HR during the test was significantly lower in group A than in group S (52.3 ± 2.5 vs 66.2 ± 2.3 bpm, p<0.001). Subjects with an increase in HR above 59 bpm could be considered in poor physical condition with a risk of error below 5 %. Blood pressure was not significantly different between the 2 groups of subjects at rest, but the increase in systolic blood pressure was significantly higher in sedentary boys than in the other groups of children (p<0.021). The questionnaire was filled out at 80–90 % by 31 of the 43 subjects (72 %). The physical activity level was calculated from the duration, intensity and type of physical activities. Of the 31 patients, 29 were included to go along with the test. In all, the step-test and the questionnaire were found to be coherent in 27 of the 29 (93%) patients in assessing usual physical activity.
Conclusion: The combination of the step-test and the questionnaire estimating the level of physical activity in obese children permits an objective assessment of daily physical activity in 95 % of cases, and the distribution of patients into active and sedentary subjects.
