Sources of variability in childhood obesity indicators and related behaviors
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Date
2017
Authors
Katzmarzyk, P.T.
Broyles, S.T.
Chaput, J-P.
Fogelholm, M.
Hu, G.
Lambert, E.V.
Maher, C.
Maia, J.
Olds, T.
Onywera, V.O.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Macmillan Publishers Limited
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe sources of variability in obesity-related variables in 6022 children aged 9–11 years from
12 countries. The study design involved recruitment of students, nested within schools, which were nested within study sites.
Height, weight and waist circumference (WC) were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated; sleep duration and total
and in-school moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time were measured by accelerometry; and diet scores
were obtained by questionnaire. Variance in most variables was largely explained at the student level: BMI (91.9%), WC (93.5%),
sleep (75.3%), MVPA (72.5%), sedentary time (76.9%), healthy diet score (88.3%), unhealthy diet score (66.2%), with the exception of
in-school MVPA (53.8%) and in-school sedentary time (25.1%). Variance explained at the school level ranged from 3.3% for BMI to
29.8% for in-school MVPA, and variance explained at the site level ranged from 3.2% for WC to 54.2% for in-school sedentary time.
In general, more variance was explained at the school and site levels for behaviors than for anthropometric traits. Given the
variance in obesity-related behaviors in primary school children explained at school and site levels, interventions that target policy
and environmental changes may enhance obesity intervention efforts.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Citation
International Journal of Obesity (2017), 1–3