Influence of overweight and obesity on strength in childhood

Introduction: overweight and obesity reach a high prevalence since childhood in Spain. Objective: to describe the effect of overweight and obesity, in schoolchildren of eleven years of age, in tests that assess the strength of both the lower and upper extremities, as well as speed. Method: four hundred and twenty-three schoolchildren of eleven years of age participated in the study. Basic anthropometric characteristics were obtained and several tests of the EUROFIT battery were developed. Results: normal-weight boys and girls had better scores in physical condition tests in general. Therefore, the vertical and horizontal jumps, bar suspension and abdominals were higher in the participants with normal-weight (p < 0.05). In addition, they performed in less time a speed circuit in both sexes (p < 0.001); however, in relation to the manual isometric strength, in the group of girls those who are overweight or obese have better results (p < 0.01). Conclusions: overweight and obese children of eleven year-olds showed a lower muscular performance, except in the case of manual isometric strength. Several equations haven been also determined for predicting the results of physical tests carried out such as jumps, dynamometry and speed, through sex and body mass index (BMI).