Physical activity among obese school-aged children: A cross-sectional study

Objective: Obesity has become an epidemic health problem worldwide. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between physical activity with the incidence of obesity in school-aged children. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involved 96 school-aged children. The standardized tools and procedures were used to measure the anthropometrical parameters. The nutritional status was determined using the WHO 2007 Anthropometric calculator for children aged 5---19 years. While physical activity among children was measured using the Physical Activity Ques- tionnaire for Children. A Chi-Square test was used to analyze the relationship between the variables. Results: The results showed that there was a significant relationship between physical activity and the occurrence of obesity among children (p = 0.004). The prevalence of obesity was higher among children with low physical activity than children with high physical activity (33.3% vs. 18.8%). Conclusion: The level of physical activity is strongly related to the incidence of obesity among school-aged children.