Correlação entre obesidade, aptidão cardiorrespiratória e fatores comportamentais em escolares da rede estadual do município de Franca-SP

Abstract

The substantial increase in the prevalence of obesity and its related diseases such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes is due largely to the two variables are behavioral: low levels of habitual physical activity and sedentary behaviors. This study sought to identify the relation between obesity, usual level of physical activity and sedentary behaviors in schoolchildren aged 11 to 12 years in the city of FrancaSP. Participated of the study 77 students of three public schools. Were used as indicators of obesity the body mass index (BMI), fat percentage and waist to hip ratio (WHP). The usual level of physical activity and sedentary habits were estimated by cardiorespiratory fitness assessed by the Cooper test and questioner. The relation between variables was verified by Pearson correlation test. The percentage of obesity found in the sample was 10.4%, 7.8% and 22.1% according to BMI, fat percentage and WHR, respectively. With respect to cardiorespiratory fitness, 62.3% of students fell into category "Low". Of the three measures of body fat used in the study, two were highly correlated with the level of physical fitness: BMI and fat percentage. The observed association with WHR was not significant. The correlation between cardiorespiratory fitness and obesity supports the hypothesis that excess weight has an inverse relationship with the level of cardiorespiratory fitness. This fact can be explained because children are overweight spend much energy and greater efforts in the movement of their bodies that is outside the normal range, compared to their non-obese peers.