Prevalence of Underweight and Overweight and Its Association with Physical Fitness in Egyptian Schoolchildren

Osama Abdelkarim, Achraf Ammar, Khaled Trabelsi, Hamdi Cthourou, Darko Jekauc, Khadijeh Irandoust, Morteza Taheri, Klaus Bös, Alexander Woll, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi and Anita Hoekelmann
Additional contact information
Osama Abdelkarim: Faculty of Physical Education, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
Achraf Ammar: Institute of Sport Science, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany
Khaled Trabelsi: High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Sfax, Sfax 3000, Tunisia
Hamdi Cthourou: High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Sfax, Sfax 3000, Tunisia
Darko Jekauc: Institute for Sport and Sports Sciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Khadijeh Irandoust: Department of Sport Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin 34148-9681, Iran
Morteza Taheri: Department of Sport Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin 34148-9681, Iran
Klaus Bös: Institute for Sport and Sports Sciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Alexander Woll: Institute for Sport and Sports Sciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (LIAM), York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
Anita Hoekelmann: Institute of Sport Science, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Underweight and overweight are serious health concerns for many children and could be associated with low physical-fitness levels. This study aimed (i) to evaluate the prevalence of underweight and overweight and (ii) to examine its association with the physical fitness levels in primary male and female schoolchildren. Including 13 government primary-schools, a cross-sectional survey was conducted between 2014 and 2017. Anthropometric characteristics together with the physical-fitness level were measured in 931 schoolchildren aged between 6- and 11-years old. The prevalence of under- and overweight children were 8.49% and 24.06%, respectively. These proportions were not significantly different between males and females and were affected by age ( p < 0.001), with a higher prevalence of overweight and a lower prevalence of underweight at 9–11 years, compared to 6–8 years old. Concerning the physical fitness levels, statistical analysis showed a better performance among males compared to females, among participants aged 9–11 years, compared to 6–8 years old, and among underweight and normal-weight, compared to overweight children ( p < 0.001). There was a higher prevalence of overweight and lower prevalence of underweight at 9–11 years compared to 6–8 years old. Physical fitness levels were better in (i) males, compared to females, (ii) schoolchildren aged 9–11 years, compared to 6–8 years old, and (iii) underweight and normal-weight, compared to overweight children.

Keywords: BMI categories; physical fitness; schoolchildren; age; gender difference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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