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Weight disorders are rapidly increasing in childhood. In Italy a strong geographic North-South gradient of overweight and obesity has been reported. The purpose of this study is to examine anthropometric variables, physical activity and lifestyles in school-age children in the cities of Bologna and Crotone. The sample consists of 963 children attending primary schools, aged 6–10 years. Height, weight, triceps, and subscapular skinfolds were measured for each child; body mass index (BMI) and percentage of fat mass were calculated. Physical activity was determined through an interview with each child. Another questionnaire was submitted to parents, in order to obtain information on sleep duration, means of transport and type of physical activity. In the city of Bologna, the mean values of anthropometric variables were: height (boys – 1335 mm, girls – 1332 mm), BMI (boys – 17.8 kg/m2, girls – 17.3 kg/m2), and the proportion of overweight and obese individuals was: boys – 20.6%, girls – 12.7%. In Crotone the mean values were: height (boys – 1275 mm, girls – 1265 mm), BMI (boys – 19.4 kg/m2, girls – 19.3 kg/m2), and the proportion of overweight and obese individuals was: boys – 46.7%, girls – 49.0%. The results have demonstrated significant correlations of lifestyle and physical activity with children's weight status. In Crotone there is a larger variation of weight disorders with higher percentages of overweight children than in Bologna. The children in Crotone are engaged in sedentary activities for a significantly longer time than children in Bologna, who are more physically active. The data show a strong North-South gradient concerning not only distribution of weight status, but also lifestyles especially including participation in sports and sedentary behavior. Our study also provides meaningful suggestions how to define lifestyles in order to achieve an optimal health status during growth.

The present study aimed to analyze, in Italian children and adolescents, the beliefs about which foods are fattening, the appreciation of fattening foods, and the perception of some socio-cultural attributes of them. 244 children (F: 125, M: 119, aged 8–11) and 305 adolescents (F: 153; M: 152, aged 11–14) from Bologna, Northern Italy, were asked to indicate five fattening foods. For each of the indicated foods, a yes-no answer was required to the question: “is this food special for you?”, and to six questions concerning socio-cultural attributes of the food, which were modelled using a latent variable with two classes named “traditional” and “modern”. Pearson’s chi square tests revealed, both in boys and girls, significant associations between the age class and the foods indicated as fattening: lean meat, condiments, non-sweet fruit and vegetables were more often indicated as fattening by children than by adolescents. Overall, boys showed higher appreciation and perception of fashionability of fattening foods. Girls appreciated less bread and pasta, and indicated more often than boys these foods as fattening. The different food perception of between age classes and sexes can be respectively explained by a better dietary awareness of adolescents, and by girls worrying about their look more than boys.

Cross-sectional study among immigrant and native children from Emilia-Romagna (Italy). Aim: The purpose of the present study was to examine the relative contribution of weight status, ethnicity and sex on body dissatisfaction in a sample of children from Emilia-Romagna (Italy). Subjects and methods: Primary school children (226 immigrants and 1206 Italians) aged 6-11 years were measured: immigrant children were divided into Asians, Africans, Latin Americans and East Europeans. Height and weight were measured and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. Body image perception was assessed using Body Silhouette Charts. A body dissatisfaction score (BDS) was derived by subtracting the "ideal self" from the "self" score. Results: Weight status disorders were higher in immigrants than in native-born males; Italian females had higher prevalence of underweight and overweight and lower prevalence of obesity than immigrants peers. BDS rose with the increase of weight status categories. Conclusions: Awareness of body image size and increasing body dissatisfaction with higher weight status is established in childhood, regardless of ethnicity and gender.

The prevalence of weight disorders among school-aged children is an increasing phenomenon and it is of great importance to identify the characteristics of individuals at risk of gaining or retaining weight. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of weight disorders and their tracking over a 3-year period in a sample of Italian children. Body mass, body height and selected skinfold thicknesses were assessed in 355 children at the age of 7 and 10 years. Tracking of body mass index (BMI), inverted BMI (iBMI) and skinfold-based body fat were analyzed and the relationships between changes in BMI and body fat were examined. Children presenting with overweight or obesity at 7 years old showed a trend toward lower weight categories at 10 years old. Conversely, a trend to become overweight was observed among normal weight boys, and a trend to become underweight was observed among normal weight girls. BMI, iBMI and body fat showed good levels of tracking, with high correlations between measurements performed at 7 and 10 years of age. Furthermore, BMI and iBMI changes were correlated to body fatness changes. The present study shows the importance of carefully following children’s development over time because weight disorders may appear even in previously normal weight children.

The predominant sedentary lifestyle of the present child population involves a reduction of the motor capacities and variations of the weight status. The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between motor performance and weight status in primary school children from Bologna (Emilia Romagna, Italy). The body weight (BW) and height (H) was assessed in 717 children (M: 368; F: 349), aged 6 to 11 yrs. The weight status was classified according to cut offs proposed by Cole et al. (2007). All the children performed then 8 motor tests: Handgrip Test for Maximal Isometric Strength (HG), Sit and Reach (SR), Dynamic Balance Test (DBT), Eye-hand Coordination Test (ECT), Standing Long Jump (SLJ), Upper Limb Explosive Strength Test (UST), Dotting Test (DT), Comma Test (CT). Three way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the differences in each test performance between genders, age groups (6,7,8,9,10,11 yrs), and weight status groups (underweight, normal-weight, overweight). Gender differences have been found in 7 out of 8 tests. Overweight children performed better than the other groups in 2 strength tests and worse in 1 strength test, whereas no differences were observed in the coordination ability test between the normal-weight and underweighted children. Normal-weight children performed better only in 1 test out of 8. Generally the score of the tests showed a trend to improve with increasing age. Some tests showed a trend to stabilize at the age of 8 and 9. The results showed that overweight children were disadvantaged in activities where the subject is engaged to develop force against gravity. Conversely, in static tests where it is not demanded an action against gravity; the overweight children show better performances. Normally the males perform better compared to females, with the exception of the SR test, and in CT, where greater precision and executive rhythm are required. The results suggest the presence of a sensible phase, for given capacities, up to 7-8 yrs and, in a less extent, in the following years. It is worth noting the different outcome of the strength capacity: the upper limbs explosive strength shows a constant increase up to 10 years, whereas for the lower limb strength and the maximum isometric strength, the increasing trend seems to restart after the stabilization in the 8-9 yrs class . These outcomes, if confirmed by the longitudinal study, will allow more precise interpretations of the interrelationships between somatic growth, weight status and motor performance. In static or segmental activities, obese children show similar performances compared to normal-weight children. This supports the idea that, for overweight and obese children, motor programs involving dynamic activities and whole-body displacement are needed. This kind of activities should stimulate appreciable energy consumption and facilitate weight loss. Parents and educators have to consider these indications to entice the children to practice, in the extra-school time, simple activities involving high energy consumption such as walking, running, and cycling.

The study of somatotypes can contribute to the understanding of variability in human body build. The aim of this study was to compare the somatotypes of Italian and Estonian schoolchildren in order to evaluate factors that might lead to variability in somatotypes. The sample consisted of 762 Italian and 366 Estonian children aged 6-11 years. They were somatotyped by the Heath-Carter anthropometric method. Data on organised extra-curricular physical activity and hours of weekly training were also collected. One-way ANOVA was used to evaluate country-related variations of somatotype in each age/sex group, while factorial ANOVA was used to test the influence of country and organised physical activity on the variability of the anthropometric characteristics and somatotype components. There are significant differences in mean somatotypes between the Italian and Estonian children in many age classes and a different constitutional trend in children from the two different countries is observed. The Italian children are more endomorphic and less mesomorphic and ectomorphic than the Estonian children. On the other hand, it emerges from factorial ANOVA, that the somatotype components do not present significant variations related to organised physical activity and to the interaction between the country of origin and sport practice. Moreover, the results of the forward stepwise discriminant analyses show that mesomorphy is the best discriminator between the two countries, followed by ectomorphy. Our findings suggest that the observed differences between Italian and Estonian children could be related mainly to country rather than to the practice of organised physical activity in the two countries.

The prevalence of childhood obesity and its associated morbidities are increasing worldwide and evidence exists that childhood obesity increases risk of obesity in adulthood. Beside total body fat, numerous Authors have underlined, in children as in adults, the importance of fat distribution, especially abdominal obesity, as a risk factor for several metabolic diseases. As a consequence, the identification of children with elevated risk factor profiles is of great interest. The purpose of our study was twofold: 1) to detect weight status, percentage of body fat (Slaughter et al., 1988) and body fat distribution in two samples from different environment and 2) to evaluate the concordance of BMI (an indicator of overall adiposity) and waist circumference (an indicator of central fat distribution) as predictors of risk factor. The sample studied comprehends 460 Italian and 191 Spanish school-children aged 6-11. Height, weight, several skinfolds, waist and hip circumferences were measured. Overweight and obesity were defined on the basis of BMI’s cut-off limits proposed by Cole et al. (2000) while waist circumference levels at which risk factors become elevated were those proposed by Katzmarzyk et al. (2004). Overall, Italian and Spanish children do not differ significantly in BMI and %BF but in fat distribution, Spanish children generally showing greater hip circumference and thickness of calf and thigh skinfolds and Italian children greater waist girth. The percentage of overweight and obesity is slight higher in Spain than in Italy both in girls (20.93%vs18.30%; 5.81%vs4.91%) and boys (25.71%vs19.92; 8.57%vs7.63%). From a methodological point of view, there is not a precise concordance between the percentages of subjects classified as having an elevate risk factor profile evaluated using the two methods. In conclusion, our study indicate that the prediction of obesity-related health risk is improved by the joined use of the two methods.

Middle childhood appears fundamental in the development of strength and motor performance, with differences among specific skills. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the characteristics of Italian children in the context of growth, body composition and functional characteristics. The sample included 163 school children (97m,66f), from Bologna(Italy) aged 6-11y. This study is the first phase of a broader longitudinal project dealing with modifications in somatic and motor characteristics. The anthropometric dimensions included weight, height, sitting height, breadths, circumferences and skinfold thicknesses. Percentage fat was estimated with the procedures of Slaughter et al.(1988); fat-free mass(FFM) and fat mass(FM) were derived. Functional characteristics included lower back/upper thigh flexibility (sit and reach) and strength tests: hand grip, standing board jump, pinches and ball throwing. In addition, tests were performed in order to evaluate the dominant side of the body and the degree of “coordination” (eye-hand coordination with a tennis ball throw test and kinaesthetic differentiation trough weight estimation test).The growth status of children from Bologna is congruent with Italian standards (Cacciari et al., 2002). Males are fatter than females, but they generally show better motor performance. Only flexibility is higher in females. The results of stepwise multiple regression analysis for motor characteristics show that a substantial portion of the variance can be explained by somatic characteristics. Multivariate statistic allows to identify different cluster variables: one for anthropometric and one other for motor performance data. Height is the most correlated to motor tests variable and represent a link with both variable groups. The ball throwing test is the most correlated (test) with anthropometric data. Our results confirm the importance of the relationships between anthropometric characters and performance during growth.