Association of Chest Expansion and Functional Capacity among School Going Children

Background: Modern age children are fatter, less physically active as well as less physically fit than in the past. This era of technological evolution has significantly affected the lifestyle activities of children with more adherence to mobile phones, televisions etc. This has thus led to decreased opportunities for children to engage in physical activities such as outdoor games. Children these days have hence adapted a sedentary lifestyle which lacks cardiopulmonary boosting in children. They prefer passive source of entertainment like laptops, cell phone which has impacted their physical health to greater extent. Lack of functionality (physical activity) has also been impacting their cognition as well as mental well-being Purpose: To assess functional capacity of children which can quantify their physical well-being and also correlate it with chest expansion Methodology: 50 subjects were taken from residential area of Ahmedabad city from whom prior consent was taken. Chest expansion was measured using standard inch tape method followed by 6 minute walk test to test their functional capacity, rate of perceived exertion was taken post exercise testing. Results: According to statistical analysis there is poor correlation between chest expansion and functional capacity among children. Conclusion: There is no association between chest expansion and functional capacity however there is significant lack of knowledge amongst children regarding physical well-being and adverse effects of being inactive. Key words: Physical activity, Children, Chest expansion, Functional capacity.