Abstract des Autors

The aim of the study was to verify the increase of daily PA by increasing PA in school environment and its effect on the occurrence of overweight and obesity in 6-8 year-old children. PA was measured in randomly selected girls (n=84) and boys (n=92) aged 6-8 using Caltrac accelerometers (active energy expenditure AEE-kcal/kg.day-1) and Yamax pedometer (daily number of steps). PA in children was repeatedly monitored continuously on 7 consecutive days. Children were classified as overweight (obese) if their BMI was equal to or greater than the sex- and age-specific 85th (97th) percentile from the World Health Organization growth charts (WHO 2007). The first PA monitoring was carried out in kindergarten in fall 2005. Upon the childre's school commencement, the participants were divided into control (n♀=41 a n♂=47) and experimental (n♀=43 a n♂=45) groups. Repeated PA monitoring was carried out in September and April in 2006-2008. The children in the control group carried out a regular PA program that included two 45-minute-long Physical Education lessons a week. PA in the experimental group comprised of two PE lessons per week and moreover of PA during a 20-minute-long recess and PA carried out in the after-school nursery. In the course of the physical activity intervention program, we have repeatedly found significantly higher (p<0.0001) values of school and daily PA (AEE and number of steps) in children from the experimental group than in children from the control group. Both boys and girls from the experimental group performed on average more than 3100 steps during the time spent at school and more than 10500 steps a day, whereas children in the control group did not reach in either of the monitoring periods more than 1900 steps during the time spent at school and more than 9200 steps a day. At the beginning of the intervention program, we did not register significant differences between the representation of obese children in the experimental group (7% girls and 11% boys) and the control group (7% girls and 6% boys). After two years of the intervention program, there was no occurrence of obesity in any child in the experimental group, yet there were 22% girls and 23% boys obese in the control group. Higher school PA significantly enhances the inhibition of the decline in daily PA and the increase of obesity in 6-8 year-old children. School environment is appropriate area to carry out effective physical activity intervention programs aimed at the increase of PA in children and the reduction of excessive weight. Verf.-Referat