TY - JOUR
T1 - Physical fitness characteristics of Omani primary school children according to body mass index
AU - Delextrat, Anne
AU - Hayes, Lawrence D.
AU - Al Ghannami, Samia S.
AU - Min, Yoeju
AU - Hussein, Izzeldin
AU - Al Oufi, Hamed
AU - Cohen, Daniel D.
AU - Ghebremeskel, Kebreab
PY - 2019/2/22
Y1 - 2019/2/22
N2 - BACKGROUNDThere 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. METHODSThree 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). RESULTSObese 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. CONCLUSIONSMost fitness measures are lower in obese Omani children, which suggests that they will be more at risk of developing NCDs later in life.
AB - BACKGROUNDThere 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. METHODSThree 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). RESULTSObese 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. CONCLUSIONSMost fitness measures are lower in obese Omani children, which suggests that they will be more at risk of developing NCDs later in life.
KW - Adipose tissue
KW - Child
KW - Muscle strength
KW - Physical endurance
U2 - 10.23736/S0022-4707.18.08136-7
DO - 10.23736/S0022-4707.18.08136-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 29589409
AN - SCOPUS:85062170481
SN - 0022-4707
VL - 59
SP - 440
EP - 448
JO - The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness
JF - The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness
IS - 3
ER -