ABSTRACT
Thus far this book has examined the relationship between physical activity and health in adults, although the issue of health in children was mentioned in the Introduction and briefly in several other chapters. In this chapter we focus on studies that have examined the relationship between physical activity and health in children. The health outcomes examined are obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and bone health. As is the case with adults, the majority of studies in children are observational and although intervention trials have been conducted, few of these are randomized controlled trials. One issue that should be remembered when discussing children’s health is that differences in maturation may confound the findings of studies where only chronological age is assessed. Another issue is the extent to which physical activity in childhood influences health in later life. Most studies of physical activity and children’s health have examined associations between physical activity in childhood and risk markers for
Introduction 205 ❚
Obesity 210 ❚
Type 2 diabetes 215 ❚
CVD 216 ❚
Bone health 219 ❚
Summary 224 ❚
Study tasks 224 ❚
Further reading 225 ❚
disease in childhood because disease itself is rare in children. However, some studies have attempted to examine the relationship between physical activity in childhood and health in adulthood. Such studies require long-term follow-up periods, and even then the endpoints are often risk factors rather than disease. In this chapter we will distinguish between studies focusing on exercise and health in childhood and those examining exercise in childhood and health in adulthood. Where possible, in this chapter a distinction is made between childhood (the period before puberty) and adolescence (the period from the beginning of puberty until adulthood). At times, however, the terms ‘children’ and ‘childhood’ will be used in the general sense to mean the entire period between birth and adulthood. This chapter begins by examining physical activity and physical fitness levels in children and adolescents.
