1Professor, Bethany Navajeevan College of Physiotherapy, Thiruvananthapuram
2Associate Professor, PG & Research Department of Rehabilitation Science, Holy Cross College, Tiruchirappalli
Childhood obesity is an epidemic. Obesity is associated with aerobic capacity. Childhood obesity leads to decreased aerobic capacity that leads to cardiovascular diseases in the adulthood. Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) also known as aerobic capacity or aerobic fitness indicates the physical fitness of a person
The objective of the study is to determine the relationship between obesity and aerobic capacity in school children aged 11 to 14 years.
100 school children between 11 and 14 years from the schools in thiruvananthapuram city were included in the study using simple random sampling method. Students with musculoskeletal impairments, cardio respiratory disorders, neurological impairments, general weakness, smokers and alcoholics were excluded from the study. BMI percentile has been calculated for all the students. They were divided into three BMI categories. i.e., Normal weight, Overweight and Obese. Multistage 20 meter shuttle run test was conducted on all the subjects to determine the VO2 Max. The pearson correlation for the VO2 Max was-.905, P value was.000 which shows that there is a significant correlation at 0.01 level between BMI categories and VO2 Max. Also the value shows that the correlation is negative, i.e., as the BMI percentile increases the VO2 Max decreases and vice versa.
The result of the study shows that there is a significant negative correlation between the BMI percentile and the VO2 max in school children aged between 11 years and 14 years. Hence as the BMI percentile increases the VO2 max decreases and vice versa in school children. Thus the study concludes that obese school going children are having less aerobic capacity.
Aerobic Capacity, VO2 Max, Childhood Obesity, Body Mass Index
