engleski

Physical activity, body composition and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in preschool children; cross-sectional analysis in southern Croatia

Introduction: Physical activity and type of diet are known to have significant influence on body composition and health in general, but there is a lack of studies examining this problem among preschool children from Croatia. The aim of this research was to investigate the association among physical activity (PA), adherence to a Mediterranean diet, and indices of body compositions (body mass index – BMI ; waist to hip ratio, waist circumference – WC) in healthy preschool children. Methods: The participants were preschoolers (n = 260 ; 5-6 years of age ; 128 girls) from south-eastern Croatia. Preschool PA questionnaire (Pre-PAQ) was used to categorize PA into five levels, from sedentary to vigorous PA-level (L1 to L5). The adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated by Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED). Results: The ANOVA revealed significant (p < 0.05) gender differences in L2 and L5 (F-test: 5.46 and 5.05, respectively) with boys being more active than girls. The correlations between observed variables were generally low, with BMI being correlated to L5 in boys (R: 0.18, p < 0.05), and KIDMED score being correlated to WC in girls (R: -0.19, p < 0.05). Discussion: Here reported more vigorous PA in boys is in line with previous researches where authors mostly found higher levels of PA in boys worldwide (Trost et al., 2002). The positive correlation between BMI and L5 in boys should be explained in light of BMI values in studied sample. Namely, the maximal BMI value for studied boys was 23.33 kg/m2. It indicates an association between vigorous PA and lean body mass in boys, which is already suggested previously (Lazaar et al., 2007). The positive influence of type of diet on obesity is well known (Kelishadi et al., 2007). Supportively, significant correlation between KIDMED score and WC in girls indicates the potential influence of the Mediterranean diet on body composition. References: Kelishadi R, Ardalan G, GheiratmandR, Gouya MM, Razaghi EM, Delavari A, Mahmoud-Arabi, MS (2007). Bull World Health Organ, 85, 19-26. Lazaar N, Aucouturier J, Ratel S, Rance M, Meyer M, Duche P (2007). Acta Paediatr, 96(9), 1321- 1325. Trost SG, Pate RR, Sallis JF, Freedson PS, Taylor WC, Dowda M, Sirard J (2002). Med Sci Sports Exerc, 34(2), 350-355.

vitamin D, Physical Activity, Diet, Health

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