TY - JOUR
T1 - Physical activity and anthropometric characteristics among urban youth in Mexico
T2 - A cross-sectional study
AU - Parker, Nathan
AU - Atrooshi, Darran
AU - Lévesque, Lucie
AU - Jauregui, Edtna
AU - Barquera, Simón
AU - Taylor, Juan Lopez
AU - Lee, Rebecca
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was made possible by a Fulbright-García Robles Core Scholar Fellowship and a grant from the National Cancer Institute (1R13CA162816) awarded to Dr Lee and by a grant (CIHR GIR 112693) awarded to Dr Lévesque and Dr Barquera from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Population and Public Health and the Public Health Agency of Canada -Strategic Initiatives and Innovations Directorate (PHAC-SIID).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Human Kinetics, Inc.
PY - 2016/10
Y1 - 2016/10
N2 - Background: Obesity is a critical problem among Mexican youth, but few studies have investigated associations among physical activity (PA) modes and anthropometrics in this population. This study examined associations among active commuting to school (ACS), sports or other organized PA, outdoor play, and body mass index (BMI) percentile and waist circumference (WC) among Mexican youth. Methods: Parents of school children (N = 1996, ages 6 to 14 years, 53.1% female) in 3 Mexican cities reported PA participation using the (modified) fourth grade School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey. Trained assessors measured BMI percentile and WC in person. Results: Parents reported that 52.3% of children engaged in ACS, 57.3% participated in sports or organized PA, and a median of 2 days in the previous week with at least 30 minutes of outdoor play. In complete case analyses (n = 857), ACS was negatively associated with BMI percentile, and outdoor play was negatively associated with WC after adjusting for school, age, sex, and income. In analyses incorporating data from multiple imputation (N = 1996), outdoor play was negatively associated with WC (all Ps < .05). Conclusions: ACS and outdoor play are favorably associated with anthropometrics and may help prevent childhood obesity in Mexico. ACS and outdoor play should be priorities for increasing youth PA in Mexico.
AB - Background: Obesity is a critical problem among Mexican youth, but few studies have investigated associations among physical activity (PA) modes and anthropometrics in this population. This study examined associations among active commuting to school (ACS), sports or other organized PA, outdoor play, and body mass index (BMI) percentile and waist circumference (WC) among Mexican youth. Methods: Parents of school children (N = 1996, ages 6 to 14 years, 53.1% female) in 3 Mexican cities reported PA participation using the (modified) fourth grade School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey. Trained assessors measured BMI percentile and WC in person. Results: Parents reported that 52.3% of children engaged in ACS, 57.3% participated in sports or organized PA, and a median of 2 days in the previous week with at least 30 minutes of outdoor play. In complete case analyses (n = 857), ACS was negatively associated with BMI percentile, and outdoor play was negatively associated with WC after adjusting for school, age, sex, and income. In analyses incorporating data from multiple imputation (N = 1996), outdoor play was negatively associated with WC (all Ps < .05). Conclusions: ACS and outdoor play are favorably associated with anthropometrics and may help prevent childhood obesity in Mexico. ACS and outdoor play should be priorities for increasing youth PA in Mexico.
KW - Active commuting to school
KW - Body mass index
KW - Outdoor play
KW - Sports
KW - Waist circumference
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U2 - 10.1123/jpah.2015-0463
DO - 10.1123/jpah.2015-0463
M3 - Article
C2 - 27256635
AN - SCOPUS:84995698417
SN - 1543-3080
VL - 13
SP - 1063
EP - 1069
JO - Journal of Physical Activity and Health
JF - Journal of Physical Activity and Health
IS - 10
ER -