Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society

Education Professor Contributes to Global Study on Childhood Obesity

Friday, January 29, 2016, By Jennifer Russo
Share
health and wellnessresearchSchool of Education
asdfasdfsadfasdfsdf

The International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment found a direct correlation between level of activity and childhood obesity.

Tiago Barreira, assistant professor in the School of Education’s department of exercise science, is part of a team of researchers who collaborated on The International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle, and the Environment (ISCOLE). The study, which took five years to complete, collected data from over 7,000 children (ages 9 to 11 years of age), from 12 different countries.

Professor Barreira says what makes this study significant is that all 12 countries used the same methodology to collect data, thus producing more accurate results. The primary aim of ISCOLE was to determine the relationships between lifestyle behaviors and obesity in a multi-national study of children, and to investigate the influence of higher-order characteristics such as behavioral settings and the physical, social and policy environments, on the relationships observed within and between countries.

Researchers collected data from several sources. Movement was measured by attaching an accelerometer to each child’s hip. This device, similar to a pedometer or activity tracker, allowed the researchers to track each child’s physical activity, sedentary time and sleep level. Obesity was measured using a bioelectrical impedance scale that measured body fat and weight. Additionally, each child filled out a questionnaire on nutrition and physical activity habits along with parents and school principals, who also filled out surveys on physical activity, nutrition and the environment around their homes and the school. Researchers looked at the school environment (the amount, quality and accessibility of equipment encouraging physical activity at each school) and what types of food were offered in the cafeteria and in vending machines.

Factors reviewed in the findings included activity levels, sleep patterns, television viewing time and diet. After collecting and analyzing the data, the study found a direct linear relationship between moderate to vigorous activity and childhood obesity. In other words, the children who were more active were less likely to be obese, and vice versa.

Additionally, while the focus of this study was to look at the correlation between exercise and obesity, other interactions emerged. A paradoxical relationship appeared between gender and childhood obesity. According to Barreira, while this study showed boys having a higher level of activity, it ironically showed the boys to be more obese than the girls. It is still unknown why this is the case, but he says that this may be due, in part, to differences in diet and/or physiology between boys and girls.

Along with the major relationships, several subsequent correlations emerged and findings were published in a special issue of the International Journal of Obesity Supplements (December 2015). This issue was devoted to the ISCOLE global study, along with 17 articles. Each of article, a sub-set of the global study, included such topics as the reliability of the accelerometer, associations between body mass index and body fat, birth weight, active transportation (the way the child traveled to and from school), lifestyle and dietary patterns (i.e., home and school food environments and the frequency of eating breakfast) and childhood obesity, along with sleep patterns and childhood obesity.

Each of the articles included a number of methodological approaches, which, Barreira says will be helpful for other researchers applying similar methods in their research. Professor Barreira also notes that the study could lead to changes in school policy and implementation of programs to encourage physical activity and healthier eating.

Barreira was one of more than 200 researchers involved in this study; he was responsible for the physical activity portion. He got involved while doing his post-doctoral fellowship at Pennington Biomendical Research Center at Louisiana State University. Barreira is an expert in objective measurement of physical activity (the use of pedometers and accelerometers), and his research focuses on the design and development of physical activity tools, physical activity patterns, motivation to promote physical activity, and the relationship between physical activity and cardiovascular disease.

More information about the global study and the subsequent articles can be found at http://www.nature.com/ijosup/journal/v5/n2s/index.html.

 

 

  • Author

Jennifer Russo

  • Recent
  • Data Privacy Day 2021: Is Your Personal Information Safe?
    Monday, January 25, 2021, By Daryl Lovell
  • Spring 2021 Office of Research Events Focus on Research Success
    Monday, January 25, 2021, By News Staff
  • A&S Speech Disorders Professor: Poet Amanda Gorman’s Story Shares Important Lesson
    Monday, January 25, 2021, By Daryl Lovell
  • Syracuse University Names Four as “Unsung Heroes” in Honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
    Monday, January 25, 2021, By News Staff
  • WAER Will Transition to the Newhouse School This Summer
    Monday, January 25, 2021, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In Health & Society

A&S Speech Disorders Professor: Poet Amanda Gorman’s Story Shares Important Lesson

National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, Amanda Gorman, captured the world’s attention this month after she read her poem “The Hill We Climb” during the 2021 inauguration ceremonies. While her performance took people’s breath…

‘Trust the Process’ with COVID Vaccine, Emergency Management Director Says

Trust the process. As a 16-year member of the United States Air Force Reserve and now in his job as director of emergency management and business continuity at the University, Joseph Hernon has always followed that philosophy. And that’s why…

Ph.D. Student in Clinical Psychology Works with Non-Profit to Fill Unmet Need in Asian Community

Jin Zhao is a fourth year Ph.D. student working toward his career goal of becoming a practicing psychologist. His qualifying exam project is researching Asian college students and how their experiences of microaggression are related to their attitudes about going…

‘2020 Was Broken and Beautiful. 2021 Needs Grace and Grit.’

The Reverend Brian E. Konkol, Ph.D., dean of Hendricks Chapel, wrote an op-ed for Syracuse.com titled “2020 was broken and beautiful. 2021 needs grace and grit.” The Rev. Konkol leads religious and spiritual life both at the University and across…

Student Gets Dose of ‘Hope, Optimism and Relief’ with COVID-19 Vaccine

Louis Smith was thrilled when he was named valedictorian of his class at Mynderse Academy in Seneca Falls, about 50 miles west of Syracuse. A lifelong Syracuse University sports fan, Smith was ecstatic when he received his acceptance letter from…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.