OBJECTIVE
To identify factors in childhood which might influence the development of obesity in adulthood.


BACKGROUND
The prevalence of obesity is increasing in the UK and other developed countries, in adults and children. The adverse health consequences of adult obesity are well documented, but are less certain for childhood obesity. An association between fatness in adolescence and undesirable socio-economic consequences, such as lower educational attainment and income, has been observed, particularly for women. Childhood factors implicated in the development of adult obesity therefore have far-reaching implications for costs to the health-services and economy.


SEARCH STRATEGY
In order to identify relevant studies, electronic databases--Medline, Embase, CAB abstracts, Psyclit and Sport Discus-were searched from the start date of the database to Spring 1998. The general search structure for electronic databases was (childhood or synonyms) AND (fatness or synonyms) AND (longitudinal or synonyms). Further studies were identified by citations in retrieved papers and by consultation with experts.


INCLUSION CRITERIA
Longitudinal observational studies of healthy children which included measurement of a risk factor in childhood (<18 y), and outcome measure at least 1 y later. Any measure of fatness, leanness or change in fatness or leanness was accepted. Measures of fat distribution were not included. Only studies with participants from an industrialized country were considered, and those concerning minority or special groups, e.g. Pima Indians or children born preterm, were excluded.


FINDINGS
Risk factors for obesity included parental fatness, social factors, birth weight, timing or rate of maturation, physical activity, dietary factors and other behavioural or psychological factors. Offspring of obese parent(s) were consistently seen to be at increased risk of fatness, although few studies have looked at this relationship over longer periods of childhood and into adulthood. The relative contributions of genes and inherited lifestyle factors to the parent-child fatness association remain largely unknown. No clear relationship is reported between socio-economic status (SES) in early life and childhood fatness. However, a strong consistent relationship is observed between low SES in early life and increased fatness in adulthood. Studies investigating SES were generally large but very few considered confounding by parental fatness. Women who change social class (social mobility) show the prevalence of obesity of the class they join, an association which is not present in men. The influence of other social factors such as family size, number of parents at home and childcare have been little researched. There is good evidence from large and reasonably long-term studies for an apparently clear relationship for increased fatness with higher birth weight, but in studies which attempted to address potential confounding by gestational age, parental fatness, or social group, the relationship was less consistent. The relationship between earlier maturation and greater subsequent fatness was investigated in predominantly smaller, but also a few large studies. Again, this relationship appeared to be consistent, but in general, the studies had not investigated whether there was confounding by other factors, including parental fatness, SES, earlier fatness in childhood, or dietary or activity behaviours. Studies investigating the role of diet or activity were generally small, and included diverse methods of risk factor measurement. There was almost no evidence for an influence of activity in infancy on later fatness, and inconsistent but suggestive evidence for a protective effect of activity in childhood on later fatness. No clear evidence for an effect of infant feeding on later fatness emerged, but follow-up to adulthood was rare, with only one study measuring fatness after 7y. Studies investigating diet in childhood were limited and inconc

Childhood predictors of adult obesity: a systematic review.

Background: The Internet has potential as a medium for health behavior change programs, but no controlled studies have yet evaluated the impact of a fully automated physical activity intervention over several months with real-time objective feedback from a monitor.
Objective: The aim was to evaluate the impact of a physical activity program based on the Internet and mobile phone technology provided to individuals for 9 weeks.
Methods: A single-center, randomized, stratified controlled trial was conducted from September to December 2005 in Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, with 77 healthy adults whose mean age was 40.4 years (SD = 7.6) and mean body mass index was 26.3 (SD = 3.4). Participants were randomized to a test group that had access to an Internet and mobile phone–based physical activity program (n = 47) or to a control group (n = 30) that received no support. The test group received tailored solutions for perceived barriers, a schedule to plan weekly exercise sessions with mobile phone and email reminders, a message board to share their experiences with others, and feedback on their level of physical activity. Both groups were issued a wrist-worn accelerometer to monitor their level of physical activity; only the test group received real-time feedback via the Internet. The main outcome measures were accelerometer data and self-report of physical activity.
Results: At the end of the study period, the test group reported a significantly greater increase over baseline than did the control group for perceived control (P < .001) and intention/expectation to exercise (P < .001). Intent-to-treat analyses of both the accelerometer data (P = .02) and leisure time self-report data (P = .03) found a higher level of moderate physical activity in the test group. The average increase (over the control group) in accelerometer-measured moderate physical activity was 2 h 18 min per week. The test group also lost more percent body fat than the control group (test group: −2.18, SD = 0.59; control group: −0.17, SD = 0.81; P = .04).
Conclusions: A fully automated Internet and mobile phone–based motivation and action support system can significantly increase and maintain the level of physical activity in healthy adults. [J Med Internet Res 2007;9(2):e7]

Using Internet and Mobile Phone Technology to Deliver an Automated Physical Activity Program: Randomized Controlled Trial

Senior Fitness Test Manual

This book gives an excellent account of current knowledge of the control of human growth from conception to the end of the adolescent growth spurt. One important principle derived from experimental observation is that a cessation of growth at the time of growth by cell division has permanent sequelae. Regrowth starts at a rate appropriate to chronological age. In contrast, a cessation at the time of growth by cell enlargement has no permanent aftereffects and 'catch-up' is usually complete. The section on growth before birth includes the recent information obtained by ultrasonography. In accordance with the principle stated above, retardation of growth in the first half of pregnancy tends to be associated with permanent small size and mental retardation. Later retardation, due to maternal malnutrition or small maternal size, tends to be followed by full catch-up growth if postnatal conditions are favourable. The section on the development of sexual dimorphism incorporates recent developments in endocrinology. Particularly striking is the narrow sensitive period in the rat (just 5 days after birth) in which the hypothalamus is switched to the male pattern of non-cyclical activity by testosterone. It is not yet known whether there is a corresponding similar sensitive period (this would be the 12th to 14th weeks after conception) in man. Again, in the rat there is evidence of similar critical differentiation of a centre controlling mating behaviour. The account of the endocrine control of growth includes the recent advances in knowledge of the regulation of secretion of pituitary growth hormone which in man controls the production of somatomedin. The section on genetic and environmental influences over the control of adult stature is wellbalanced, though the author does attempt an estimation of heritability. Chinese and Japanese children, even under optimal conditions, are smaller than north Europeans, and are even shorter when full-grown because of earlier maturity (menarche is about 6 months earlier). Negroes, and, even more, Australian aboriginals, have relatively greater leg length in relation to sitting height than Chinese and Japanese, while Europeans are intermediate in this respect. These are genetic differences. It is noteworthy that differences in Sweden in full adult height by social class of parents appear to have disappeared. Further, the secular increase in full adult stature appears to be coming to an end in northern Europe. These were presumably environmental effects. Professor Tanner does not discuss the origin or the duration of the secular change, but it is the reviewer's belief that much of it represents a recovery from the stunting of children associated with the chronic malnutrition and long hours of work of young children at the time of the industrial revolution. Professor Tanner gives an equally well-balanced account of the controversial topic of the effects of malnutrition on brain growth. A long chapter on the Standards of Normal Growth reflects the expertise and extensive experience of the author and his colleagues in longitudinal growth studies, including a convenient method of allowing for parental height in estimating a child's expected position in relation to his peers. Here, perhaps, the author might have included an explanation of the genetic reasons why individual children in a family tend to vary widely round the midparental mean, and why a child's height at age 10 (even after correcting for skeletal age) is only of limited value in predicting his full adult height. The books ends with an admirably complete set of references. C. 0. CARTER

https://jmg.bmj.com/content/jmedgenet/16/1/81.1.full.pdf

Foetus into Man. Physical Growth from Conception to Maturity

http://www.selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2007_VierlingStandageTreasure_PSE.pdf

Predicting attitudes and physical activity in an "at-risk" minority youth sample: A test of self-determination, theory

Background: The design of meaningful and enjoyable Exergames for fitness training in older adults possesses critical challenges in matching user's needs and motivators with game elements. ...

Lessons Learned from Gamifying Functional Fitness Training Through Human-Centered Design Methods in Older Adults.

This study investigated the relation between students’ attitude toward physical education (PE) and its correlates by simultaneously considering age, sex, enjoying physical activity (PA), self-perceived physically active lifestyle (PAL), self-perception of physical competence, PA, and cardiovascular fitness (CF). This cross-sectional study included 235 students (M = 15.2 ± 2.5 years). All correlates of students’ attitude toward PE were assessed via questionnaires. CF was assessed by via Fitnessgram. Pearson correlation coefficients confirmed a large positive correlation between attitude toward PE and PA enjoyment (r = .71, p < .001) and PAL (r = .52, p < .001). Moderate positive correlations were found for self-perception of physical competence, nonorganized PA, organized PA, and CF (.24 ≥ r ≤ .48, ps < .001) . Multiple linear regression showed that enjoying PA (β = .62, p < .001) was the only significant predictor when all variables were considered simultaneously. The model explained 55% of explained variance on students’ attitude toward PE. Binary logistic regressions showed that students who reported enjoying PA were 9.3 times more likely to report a positive attitude toward PE. In contrast, students who did not enjoy PA and those who overperformed in the CF test were 4.2 and 1.1 , respectively, more likely to report a negative attitude toward PE. Coherently across all analyses, from all the predictors studied, PA enjoyment seems to be the most powerful, showing the highest contribution in explaining students’ attitude toward PE. Subscribe to TPE

/pdf/students-attitude-toward-physical-education-relations-with-rh803q3s90.pdf

Students’ Attitude Toward Physical Education: Relations With Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, and Self-Concept

Sedentarism has a negative impact on health, life expectancy and quality of life, especially in older adults. The assessment of functional fitness helps evaluating the effects of ageing and sedentarism, and this assessment is typically done through validated battery tests such as the Senior Fitness Test (SFT). In this paper we present a computer-based system for assisting and automating SFT administration and scoring in the elderly population. Our system assesses lower body strength, agility and dynamic balance, and aerobic endurance making use of a depth sensor for body tracking and multiple gesture detectors for the evaluation of movement execution. The system was developed and trained with optimal data collected in laboratory conditions and its performance was evaluated in a real environment with 22 elderly end-users, and compared to traditional SFT administered by an expert. Results show a high accuracy of our system in identifying movement patterns (>95%) and consistency with the traditional fitness assessment method. Our results suggest that this technology is a viable low cost option to assist in the fitness assessment of elderly that could be deployed for at home use in the context of fitness programs.

Automating senior fitness testing through gesture detection with depth sensors

Physical activity, fitness and overweight in children and adolescents: The Madeira Growth Study

Exergames are videogames that use physical movement to mediate player’s interactions with digital contents. Multiple adaptation mechanisms have been used to enhance the effectiveness of employing Exergames to promote physical exercise. One of the most interesting strategies utilizes physiological signals to infer the status of player’s cardiorespiratory responses and create real-time game adaptations. This strategy is called biocybernetic-adaptation and despite its promising potential, quantitative studies identifying measurable benefits are scarce. We developed a between-subjects study measuring the autonomic-cardiac regulation differences between conventional cardiorespiratory training methods and a physiologically modulated Exergame in a group of fifteen older adults. We used heart rate (HR) data measured through smartwatches and a floor-projection setup to encourage players to exert in targeted HR zones. We presented the analysis of the time users spent in the target zone and the Heart-Rate-Variability (HRV) in time and frequency domains during training sessions of 20 minutes length. Two time-domain (SDNN and RMSSD) and one frequencydomain (VLF) HRV parameters showed significant differences, revealing lower HRV values in the physiologically adaptive condition when compared with conventional training. Our data suggests that smartwatch technology can be accurate enough to assess HRV changes, and that a HR based physiologically adaptive Exergame induces less HRV.

Heart Rate Variability in Exergaming - Feasibility and Benefits of Physiological Adaptation for Cardiorespiratory Training in Older Adults by Means of Smartwatches

E. R. Gouveia

Papers

Lessons Learned from Gamifying Functional Fitness Training Through Human-Centered Design Methods in Older Adults.

Students’ Attitude Toward Physical Education: Relations With Physical Activity, Physical Fitness, and Self-Concept

Automating senior fitness testing through gesture detection with depth sensors

Physical activity, fitness and overweight in children and adolescents: The Madeira Growth Study

Heart Rate Variability in Exergaming - Feasibility and Benefits of Physiological Adaptation for Cardiorespiratory Training in Older Adults by Means of Smartwatches