Objectively measured habitual physical activity and sedentary behaviour in obese and non-obese Malaysian children

Sharifah Wajihah Wafa, Syed Saadun Tarek Wafa and Talib, Abdul Rahman and Nur Hana, Hamzaid (2014) Objectively measured habitual physical activity and sedentary behaviour in obese and non-obese Malaysian children. Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, 60 (2). pp. 161-163. ISSN 14653664

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Abstract

The present study examined objectively measured physical activity in Malaysian children and compared the differences in physical levels between obese and healthy weight children. Eighty-six obese children were matched for age and sex with 86 healthy weight children with median age 9.5 years. Habitual physical activity and sedentary behaviour were measured over 5 days using Actigraph accelerometers. Time spent sedentary was significantly higher in the obese group (90% vs. 86% of daytime; p¼0.001).Moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity was significantly higher in the healthy weight group(1.2 vs. 0.7% of daytime, p<0.001). In both healthy weight and obese children, physical activity levels were exceptionally low, although moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity was significantly lower in the obese group than the healthy weight group. Efforts to prevent and treat obesity in Malaysian children will need a substantial focus on the promotion of reductions in sedentary behaviour and increases in physical activity.

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