The Prevalence and Potential Determinants of Childhood Obesity among School Children in Taiwan

10.4247/AM.2013.ABC042

Cheng-Kai Sie；Szu-Tzu Chu；Hung-Min Lai；Qing-Fang Wu；Ying-Lan Tsai

childhood obesity ； heart rate variability ； school children ； Taiwan

Adaptive Medicine

5卷1期（2013 / 03 / 01）

34 - 39

英文

Obesity is a prevalent disease in today's world. The prevalence of childhood obesity has been increasing rapidly in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the cardiac sympathetic activity and obesity among school children in Taiwan and to establish the relationship between heart rate variability (HRV) with anthropometric variables and cardiorespiratory fitness. HRV analysis was demonstrated the overall capacity of heart and the function of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and cardiorespiratory endurance capacity was measured by 1,600 meter run test. Sixty three obese children and sixty normal weight children aged from 12 to 15 were recruited. The results showed that the children in the obese group have worse cardiorespiratory fitness than those in the non-obese group. In addition, the obese group manifested significantly lower HRV components of total power (TP), low frequency (LF), and high frequency (HF) power than the non-obese group. Furthermore, the body fat was correlated with the performance of cardiorespiratory fitness, LF, HF, and TP for all the subjects. Childhood obesity is an important prescience for adult obesity and a serious issue in Taiwan. We suggested that the children should form the appropriate habits of choosing healthy foods, long-term exercise, and regular lifestyle.