Characteristics of the diet and patterns of physical activity in obese Chilean preschoolers

The prevalence of obesity among chilean children has increased progressivel y during the last decade. A study was carried out with the objective of ide ntifying the two most important environmental factors involved in this cond ition, characteristics of the diet and patterns of physical activity. It wa s a case-control study which included 237 obese, weight/height (W/H)>2 S.D. WHO) and 449 non-obese (W/H between -1 and 1 S. D.), four year old low inc ome children who regularly assisted to 8 health centers in Santiago during 1995/96. Two questionnaires were applied to the mother: a food frequency pl us a physical activity recall. The first one registered her child's usual d aily food intake, the second one, the child's usual daily activities, defin ing 5 categories, according to their energy cost. In terms of the diet, the re was no difference in the estimated intake of total energy, energy dense foods or macronutrients between obese and non-obese. For boys, for example, the estimated energy intake was 1823+/-442 versus 1778+/-373 Kcal respecti vely. With respect to physical activity, the results showed that in obese b oys, the average time spent on the different categories was: sleep, 11.2 +/ - 1 hr; TV, 3.2 +/- 1.8 hr; sedentary (includes TV), 7.8 +/- 2 hr; moderate , 3.2+/- 2 hr and intense, 1.9 +/- 1.8 hr. No significant differences with these figures were observed for non-obese boys as for both obese as Pion-ob ese girls, with the exception of the moderate and intense categories, in wh ich the first one was significantly greater and the second significantly sm aller in girls. The calculated physical activity level (PAL) was low and ve ry similar for both obese as nonobese, 1.46+/-0.14 and 1.47+/-0.12, respect ively. Although no differences were found in either the estimated energy co nsumption or in the PAL values between obese and non-obese, probably due to the weaknesses of the methodologies, to the variability of the diet, and t o the difficulty in identifying the persistent small dietary imbalances whi ch lead to obesity, we have shown nevertheless, that these children have si gnificantly higher estimated intakes of energy than recommended and lead ve ry sedentary lives. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.