Physical activity, fitness and the metabolic syndrome in rural youths from Mozambique

Abstract

Background: Except for North America and Europe, few studies have reported the association among physical activity (PA), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in youths, especially for rural African youth.

Aim: The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of PA levels, CRF, MetS and its indicators, and examine the association between these variables in a school-aged sample of youth from rural Mozambique.

Subjects and methods: The sample included 209 children and adolescents aged 7–15 years old from Calanga, a rural community in Mozambique. PA was estimated with a culturally-specific questionnaire. CRF was determined by 1-mile run test. Indicators of the MetS included fasting glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index. A continuous metabolic risk score was computed.

Results: Results showed high levels of PA and CRF and a low prevalence of MetS ( < 2%) among children and adolescents from Calanga. However, there was a moderately high prevalence of elevated blood pressure (81.8%) and triglycerides (18.7%), respectively. There were no significant associations between PA, CRF and MetS.

Conclusion: Youths from Calanga are physically active and possess high CRF and their lifestyle may be a protective effect against MetS.

Keywords::

• Metabolic risk
• cardiorespiratory fitness
• active lifestyle

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funds from the World Bank Quick Impact Fund through the Higher Education Project-I of the Mozambican Ministry of Science and Technology.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.