Relationship between Body Mass Index and Physical Activity among Children from Low-Income Communities in Gqeberha, South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Study

Danielle Dolley; Rosa Du Randt; Uwe Pühse; Markus Gerber; Jacob Bosma; Ann Aerts; Larissa Adams; Patricia Arnaiz; Nandi Joubert; Ivan Müller; Siphesihle Nqweniso; Harald Seelig; Peter Steinmann; Jürg Utzinger; Cheryl Walter

doi:10.3390/ijerph20021428

Relationship between Body Mass Index and Physical Activity among Children from Low-Income Communities in Gqeberha, South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Study

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 12;20(2):1428. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021428.

Authors

Danielle Dolley¹, Rosa Du Randt¹, Uwe Pühse², Markus Gerber², Jacob Bosma¹, Ann Aerts³, Larissa Adams¹, Patricia Arnaiz², Nandi Joubert^{2

4

5}, Ivan Müller², Siphesihle Nqweniso¹, Harald Seelig², Peter Steinmann^{4

5}, Jürg Utzinger^{4

5}, Cheryl Walter¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Human Movement Science, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha 77000, South Africa.
² Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, 4052 Basel, Switzerland.
³ Novartis Foundation, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
⁴ Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland.
⁵ University of Basel, 4052 Basel, Switzerland.

Abstract

This study aimed to establish the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity, the level of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and the association thereof among vulnerable children from low-income communities in South Africa. Cross-sectional data were collected from 916 children (467 boys and 449 girls) aged 8-13 years (x̄ = 10.4 ± 1.2 years) attending eight low-income schools in Gqeberha, South Africa. Measured outcomes included accelerometery-measured physical activity (PA), weight, height and body mass index (BMI). Analysis of variance was used to determine the mean difference of total MVPA stratified by sex and BMI classification. Overall, 13% of the cohort were underweight, 19% were overweight/obese and 64% engaged in 60 min of MVPA per day. Girls presented nearly twice the odds of being overweight or obese than boys (95% CI: 1.40-2.77). Underweight to normal-weight children (boys: OR = 3.89, 95% CI: 2.18-6.93; girls: OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.13-2.80) were more likely to engage in 60 min/day of MVPA than overweight to obese children. There is an inverse association between BMI categories and theduration of MVPA achieved per day. Special attention should be aimed at increasing awareness of healthy nutrition and promoting a variety of PA, especially among girls and children with excess weight.

Keywords: body mass index; children; low-income schools; moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; obesity; overweight; underweight.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Body Mass Index
Body Weight
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Exercise
Female
Humans
Male
Overweight* / epidemiology
Pediatric Obesity*
South Africa / epidemiology
Thinness / epidemiology

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Novartis Foundation (100101145) and took place under the auspices of the UNESCO Chair on ‘Physical Activity and Health in Educational Settings’. D.D. was funded by the Nelson Mandela University and the National Research Foundation; Grant UID: 117626. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of this manuscript. The authors declare no conflict of interest.