COMPARISON OF DURATION AND INTENSITY OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN AMERICAN AND HUNGARIAN BOYS AND GIRLS 10 – 14 YEARS OLD

Ferenc Ihasz, Michael Cooper, Josip Lepeš, Szabolcs Halasi

DOI Number
-
First page
137
Last page
144

Abstract


Vital information can be obtained on the relationship between duration and intensity of physical activity and body composition. Knowing the intensity and duration of physical activity children are participating in during a typical day can potentially give insight to the increase of childhood obesity in both the United States and Hungary. The purpose of this study was to analyze the duration and intensity of physical activity of American (n=91) and Hungarian (n=119) 10 -14yearold healthy boys and girls. They received Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers collecting data continuously for 3 days of a typical school week (Monday-Wednesday). Height and weight were measured and body mass index was calculated. Activity counts were separated into moderate (~3.5 Mets), vigorous (~5 Mets) and vigorous+ (~8 Mets) activity levels using the recommended cut off points provided by Actigraph. Independent t-tests were used to determine significant differences.The American children performed significantly more activity daily compared to Hungarian children but the American children had a significantly higher BMI. The results raise questions about American diet and amount of physical activity recommended daily).


Keywords

Accelerometer, children, physical activity, obesity.

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References


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