Active girls have better lung function in adolescence: study

Madrid, 31st July (IANS): Parents, please take note. Researchers have demonstrated a link between regular physical activity during childhood and higher lung function in adolescent girls compared to boys.

The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, examined the relationship between physical activity, from childhood to young age and lung function in adolescence in 2 300 boys and girls participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study on Parents and Children (ALSPAC).

"The high prevalence of physical inactivity observed in children is worrisome, and extrapolated to the general population, it is a factor that could have a considerable impact on the function of children. pulmonary, "said Judith Garcia Aymerich of the Institute for Global Health in Barcelona (ISGlobal).

"Strategies to promote physical activity in childhood could be very beneficial to the respiratory health of the population," she added.

According to the researchers, children's physical activity was recorded using an Actigraph sensor over seven days at 11, 13 and 15 years and their lung function was badyzed by spirometry at 8 and 15 years old.

Parents of children also completed questionnaires on socio-demographic, psychological and lifestyle factors.

The researchers defined low, moderate and high physical activity trajectories.

"Girls in the moderate and high physical activity trajectories had greater expiratory capacity – that is, a greater forced expiration volume – than girls in the trajectory of low physical activity, "said Celina Roda, lead author of the study, at ISGlobal.

On the other hand, no such badociation has been observed in boys. One of the possible explanations, according to the researchers, is that "growth spurts occur earlier in girls than in boys, so any effect of physical activity on lung function can be more easily observed at an earlier age for girls ".

The results showed that less than 7% of children had reached the level of physical activity recommended by the World Health Organization – a minimum of 60 minutes a day.