Janko Strel

Tracking excess weight and obesity from childhood to young adulthood: a 12-year prospective cohort study in Slovenia

OBJECTIVE The objective was to examine the tracking of obesity from childhood to young adulthood in Slovenia. SUBJECTS A subsample included 4833 children from the Slovenian national sample (n 21 777) who were included in the SLOFIT monitoring system from 1997 to 2008, with complete data at 7 years and 18 years. DESIGN A 12-year prospective cohort study. Height, weight and triceps skinfold thickness (TSF) were measured at 7, 11, 14 and 18 years. The BMI cut-off points of the International Obesity Taskforce were used to identify excess weight and obesity. SETTING The survey was conducted in Slovenian primary and secondary schools from 1988 to 2008 but only the data from the measurements in 1997, 2001, 2004 and 2008 are presented. RESULTS Height, weight and BMI at 18 years were well predicted from childhood and became more predictable with age, while TSF was not. Obese and overweight children had the greatest risk of becoming obese or overweight young adults. The history of their weight shows that 40.0 % of males and 48.6 % of females who were obese at 18 years had already been obese at 7 years. CONCLUSIONS Overweight or obese Slovenian children are more likely to become overweight or obese adolescents and young adults than reported in other similar European and American studies, which indicates the need for early prevention and treatment of excess weight and obesity.

Associations of objectively assessed sleep and physical activity in 11-year old children

Abstract Aim: Objective methods were used to evaluate children’s sleep and physical activity over several days in order to test the hypotheses that: (1) low average sleep duration and/or sleep efficiency are linked to a low amount of physical activity; and (2) a reduction in sleep quantity and/or sleep efficiency during the night is followed by a decrease in physical activity the following day. Methods: This is a multi-centre, observational study involving 276 children, aged 10.5–12 years, from diverse urban settings in Croatia, Slovenia and the US. Sleep and activity were monitored for 2–6 days (median = 4) using the Sensewear Armband™ multi-sensor body monitor. Results: While average sleep duration and efficiency were unrelated to physical activity, within-subjects associations revealed that an extra hour spent in bed during the night was followed by a 16-minute decrease in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (p < 0.001). This was accompanied by a 4.5 kJ/kg and 5.9 kJ/kg lower total daily energy expenditure in boys and girls, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study found no evidence for a link between short sleep and low or reduced physical activity.

School day and weekend patterns of physical activity in urban 11‐year‐olds: A cross‐cultural comparison

This multi‐center study was conducted to objectively evaluate energy expenditure and physical activity (PA) patterns on school days and weekends in urban 11‐year‐olds.

Morphological Characteristics and Motor Fitness Among Girls Attending Different Secondary-School Programmes

Durante la adolescencia, se puede observar una baja de interes en la actividad fisica en el tiempo libre de las ninas y el estancamiento en algunos indicadores de la condicion fisica. Se analizo la condicion fisica de una muestra de 14.920 ninas de escuelas secundarias de tres tipos diferentes de programas educativos (academica, tecnica y profesional) con diferentes cantidades de clases de educacion fisica en el curriculum. Se utilizaron los datos del sistema de monitoreo de aptitud fisica de estudiantes de Eslovenia (SLOFIT), incluyendo tres medidas morfologicas y ocho pruebas motoras. Se utilizo un analisis multivariado de varianza para probar las diferencias entre el tipo de programa y la edad de los estudiantes. Las diferencias entre los programas de educacion para todo el conjunto de las variables morfologicas y motoras analizadas no fueron estadisticamente significativas (p <0,001). El programa educativo es un factor mucho mas importante (explica alrededor del 7% de la varianza) que la edad (0,4%). Se explican mejor las diferencias en las variables motoras que las morfologicas. Las ninas del programa academico son mas altas y tienen el pliegue cutaneo del triceps mas delgado. Tambien muestran un mejor estado fisico motor que sus contrapartes de los programas de formacion tecnica y profesional. Sin embargo, no se puede concluir que toda la variabilidad se debe al programa educativo de ensenanza secundaria, ya que los resultados tambien son influenciados por algunos factores personales y sociales que no fueron controlados en nuestro estudio. Sin embargo, es necesario actuar mas para compensar ciertas desigualdades entre las ninas adolescentes, especialmente en las escuelas de formacion profesional.

Impact of prematurity on exercise capacity and agility of children and youth aged 8 to 18

BACKGROUND Preterm (PT) birth and low birth mass (LBW) can impair growth and development of children and may therefore affect their physical performance up to adulthood. AIMS Our aim was to evaluate long-term consequences of prematurity, especially (an)aerobic exercise capacity and agility up to adulthood, by comparing premature and full-term (FT) individuals. STUDY DESIGN, SUBJECTS From 474 subjects born in 1987, who were enrolled into a longitudinal study, 396 (178 PT and 218 FT (with 127 of them LBW)) were followed-up into their early adulthood. Their mass, respiratory status at birth, and results of SLOfit monitoring system (i.e. results of exercise capacity and agility) were monitored on a yearly basis from their age of 8 to 18years. Data were compared statistically with Student t-test or ANOVA. OUTCOME MEASURES, RESULTS PT (or LBW) individuals performed aerobic (time of 600-meter run of females) and the majority of anaerobic tests (sit-ups, standing broad jump, and time of 60-meter run, but not bent arm hang) worse (p<0.05) than FT individuals. Before puberty, however, the agility and fine motor tests (arm plate tapping, polygon backwards, and standing reach touch) were performed better (p<0.05) by PT (or LBW) females, as compared to their FT peers, with no similar results in males. CONCLUSIONS Our results clearly demonstrate that prematurity (especially extreme prematurity) diminishes exercise capacity and agility on the long-term scale, therefore, PT children should be encouraged towards more regular participation in physical activities from early childhood onwards.