Correlation between nutritional status and level of physical activity in school children from southern Sonora, Mexico

Abstract

The lack of physical activity and malnutrition are important factors that compromise the health of the entire population. The purpose of the study is to determine the degree of association between the nutritional status and the level of physical activity in school children in southern Sonora, Mexico. The study is quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional. The sample is comprised of elementary students of both sexes (female 48.71% and male 51.28%) with ages ranging between 10 and 12 years (10.86 ± 1.56). The evaluated variables included level of physical activity with the PAQ-C questionnaire and nutritional status using BMI/Age percentiles from WHO in 2007. Main results indicate that 3.20% of school children are underweight, while overweight and obesity combined add up to 19.86%, with males having the highest number of cases (23.76% with moderate levels of physical activity) and females having a greater presence at low and very low levels. A significant inverse correlation was found between nutritional status and level of physical activity in both females (r = -0.19; p = .003) and males (r = -0.55; p < .0001). In conclusion, the association between malnutrition and low levels of physical activity could be considered to establish preventive and intervention strategies.