Socio-cultural determinants of ad...
This Provisional PDF corresponds to the article as it appeared upon acceptance. Fully formatted PDF and full text (HTML) versions will be made available soon. Socio-cultural determinants of adiposity and physical activity in preschool children: a cross-sectional study BMC Public Health 2010, 10:733 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-733 Flavia Burgi (flavia.buergi@unibas.ch) Ursina Meyer (ursina.meyer@unibas.ch) Iris Niederer (iris.niederer@unibas.ch) Vincent Ebenegger (vincent.ebenegger@unil.ch) Pedro M Marques-Vidal (pedro-manuel.marques-vidal@chuv.ch) Urs Granacher (urs.granacher@unibas.ch) Susi Kriemler (susi.kriemler@unibas.ch) Jardena J Puder (jardena.puder@chuv.ch) ISSN 1471-2458 Article type Research article Submission date 21 June 2010 Acceptance date 26 November 2010 Publication date 26 November 2010 Article URL http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/733 Like all articles in BMC journals, this peer-reviewed article was published immediately upon acceptance. It can be downloaded, printed and distributed freely for any purposes (see copyright notice below). Articles in BMC journals are listed in PubMed and archived at PubMed Central. For information about publishing your research in BMC journals or any BioMed Central journal, go to http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/authors/ BMC Public Health �� 2010 Burgi et al. , licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
1 Socio-cultural determinants of adiposity and physical activity in preschool children: A cross-sectional study Flavia B��rgi1��, Ursina Meyer1, Iris Niederer1, Vincent Ebenegger2, Pedro Marques-Vidal3, Urs Granacher1, Susi Kriemler4, Jardena J.Puder5 1Institute of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Basel, Birsstrasse 320B, 4052 Basel, Switzerland 2Institute of Sports Sciences and Physical Education, University of Lausanne, B��timent de Vidy, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland 3Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and Faculty of biology and medicine, University of Lausanne, Rue de Bugnon 17, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland 4Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel, Socinstrasse 57, 4002 Basel, Switzerland 5Service of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, University of Lausanne, Rue de Bugnon 46, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland ��Corresponding author E-mail addresses: FB: flavia.buergi@unibas.ch UM: ursina.meyer@unibas.ch IN: iris.niederer@unibas.ch VE: vincent.ebenegger@unil.ch PM: pedro-manuel.marques-vidal@chuv.ch UG: urs.granacher@unibas.ch SK: susi.kriemler@unibas.ch JJP: jardena.puder@chuv.ch
2 Abstract Background Both individual socio-cultural determinants such as selected parental characteristics (migrant background, low educational level and workload) as well as the regional environment are related to childhood overweight and physical activity (PA). The purpose of the study was to compare the impact of distinct socio-cultural determinants such as the regional environment and selected parental characteristics on adiposity, PA and motor skills in preschool children. Methods Forty preschools (N=542 children) of two culturally different urban regions (German and French speaking part of Switzerland) participated in the study (Ballabeina Study). Outcome measures included adiposity (BMI and skinfold thickness), objectively measured sedentary activities and PA (accelerometers) and agility performance (obstacle course). Parental characteristics (migrant status, educational level and workload) were assessed by questionnaire. Results Children from the French speaking areas had higher adiposity, lower levels of total and of more intense PA, were more sedentary and less agile than children from the German speaking regions (percent differences for all outcome parameters except for BMI ���10% all p���0.04). Differences in skinfold thickness, sedentary activities and agility, but not in PA, were also found between children of Swiss and migrant parents, though they were ���8% (p���0.02). While paternal workload had no effect, maternal workload and parental education resulted in differences in some PA measures and/or agility performance (percent differences in both: ���9%, p���0.008), but not in adiposity or sedentary activities (p=NS). Regional differences in skinfold thickness, PA, sedentary activities and agility performance persisted after adjustment
3 for parental socio-cultural characteristics, parental BMI and, where applicable, children���s skinfolds (all p���0.01). Conclusions The regional environment, especially the broader social environment, plays a prominent role in determining adiposity, PA and motor skills of young children and should be implicated in the prevention of obesity and promotion of PA in children. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov NCT00674544
4 Background Childhood overweight and obesity have been increasing dramatically worldwide, even in young children. Despite a possible stabilization, the high prevalence remains a great public health concern [1]. Among several environmental factors, a sedentary behaviour (especially TV viewing) and a reduction in physical activity (PA) are implicated in this increase in body fatness [2]. Some data indicate that children have become less physically active [3-5]. One potential environmental influence on children���s PA that may be implicated in this decrease is the amount of time spent outdoors [6]. It has recently been reported that 3- to 5-year old children spend around 80% of their time in activities classified as sedentary or at most light PA [7]. Furthermore, a trend towards a decline in motor performance has already been noticed in young children [8]. Individual socio-cultural determinants such as selected parental characteristics (migrant background, low educational level and high workload) are known risk factors for childhood overweight/obesity and sedentary behaviours [9-12]. In addition, there exist also regional variations of overweight and PA [13, 14]. Even within Europe, prevalence in overweight differs among countries, ranging from 5 to 25% [13, 14]. However, there is a lack of data on the respective roles of individual and environmental determinants in a well defined setting. With its linguistic and cultural diversity, Switzerland offers the opportunity to study diverse cultural environments within the same country. It can thus serve as a model to examine the impact of the regional environment on adiposity, PA and motor skills in children. In the present study, we assessed differences in adiposity, objectively measured PA, sedentary behaviour and agility performance in preschool children according to different socio-cultural determinants (parental migrant status, education, and workload) and the regional environment.
