Physical and Sedentary Activities and Childhood Overweight/Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study among First-Year Children of Primary Schools in Modena, Italy

Stefania Paduano, Antonella Greco, Lucia Borsari, Chiara Salvia, Stefano Tancredi, Jenny Pinca, Simona Midili, Alberto Tripodi, Paola Borella and Isabella Marchesi
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Stefania Paduano: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, Section of Public Health, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Antonella Greco: Department of Public Health, AUSL Modena, 41126 Modena, Italy
Lucia Borsari: Department of Public Health, AUSL Modena, 41126 Modena, Italy
Chiara Salvia: Primary Care Health Authority and Services, AUSL Modena, 41124 Modena, Italy
Stefano Tancredi: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, Section of Public Health, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Jenny Pinca: Department of Public Health, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, AUSL Modena, 41126 Modena, Italy
Simona Midili: Department of Public Health, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, AUSL Modena, 41126 Modena, Italy
Alberto Tripodi: Department of Public Health, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, AUSL Modena, 41126 Modena, Italy
Paola Borella: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, Section of Public Health, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Isabella Marchesi: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, Section of Public Health, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: Children obesity is a serious public health issue. This study aimed to investigate physical/sedentary activities of first-year primary schools children in Modena, and their association with overweight/obesity and dietary habits of children and family characteristics to identify the risk factors for unhealthy lifestyles. Child physical/sedentary activities were gathered through an anonymous questionnaire administered to parents, as well as family characteristics and weight/height of child and parents. Logistic regression models, eventually adjusted for parents’ sociodemographic characteristics, were used to analyze data. Questionnaires were delivered by 660 families (74.2%), of which 72 without anthropometric data were excluded. Three out of four children spent in physical activities less than 7 h/week, while 63.9% dedicated to sedentary activities two or more hours/day. From multivariate analysis, the habit significantly affecting children’s overweight/obesity was spending time on tablets/Personal Computers/mobile phones/videogames. Higher parental education level resulted in a protective factor for implementing unhealthy lifestyles in terms of time dedicated to physical/sedentary activities. Our results suggest the need of interventions to increase time for physical activity and to promote a responsible use of digital media involving the entire families to reach all parents regardless of their education and nationality with a possible relapse on other family members.

Keywords: physical activity; sedentary behaviours; childhood overweight/obesity; parental education; lifestyle (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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