Sedentary behaviors associated with overweight

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify possible relationships between sedentary behavior and overweight. The study enrolled 1,570 schoolchildren from the city of João Pessoa, PB, Brazil, aged 7 to 12 years. These children answered three objective questions on the activities in which they spent most of their time when not at school (watching TV, household chores, playing or taking part in sports), most used transport (car/motorbike/bus= passive and on foot/bicycle = active) and the time taken from home to school. Overweight was classified according to the criteria proposed by the International Obesity Task Force. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression. The chance of being overweight was 81% (95%CI= 1.23-2.65) greater among boys who watched TV compared with those who did other activities; and 3 times greater (95%CI= 1.92-5.38) for schoolchildren whose journey to school was made passively in relation to those who walked or ride a bike. Among girls, the chance of overweight was 2.27 times greater (95%CI= 1.39-3.71) among those whose journey to school was passive, when compared with those who traveled actively. It was concluded that watching TV during the majority of leisure time for boys and being passively transported to school for both sexes increased the chances of overweight.