Physical fitness characteristics of Omani primary school children according to body mass index

Anne Delextrat*, Lawrence D. Hayes, Samia S. Al Ghannami, Yoeju Min, Izzeldin Hussein, Hamed Al Oufi, Daniel D. Cohen, Kebreab Ghebremeskel

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
31 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

BACKGROUND

There is evidence that children with high cardiorespiratory fitness and normal body mass index (BMI) have less risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), however limited research was undertaken in Omani children. Therefore the aims of the present study were to describe body composition and physical fitness of a large cohort of Omani school children of both genders, and to investigate the effects of weight status on physical fitness. 

METHODS

Three hundred and fourteen Omani school children aged 9 to 10 years old took part in anthropometric assessments, body composition and fitness tests, including handgrip strength, the basketball chest pass, broad jump, 20-m sprint, four 10-m shuttle agility, 30-s sit-up, and multistage fitness test (MSFT). 

RESULTS

Obese boys and girls performed worse than normal-weight children in sprint, agility and endurance. In addition, fitness measures in the overweight group and underweight groups were not significantly different from other groups, except a better handgrip strength and poorer MSFT in overweight compared to normal weight girls, and poorer agility performance in underweight girls compared to the three other groups. 

CONCLUSIONS

Most fitness measures are lower in obese Omani children, which suggests that they will be more at risk of developing NCDs later in life.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)440-448
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness
Volume59
Issue number3
Early online date27 Mar 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 22 Feb 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adipose tissue
  • Child
  • Muscle strength
  • Physical endurance

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