Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37880621›Full record

Trial reportBMC public health2023

Changes in fitness and fatness in Australian schoolchildren during the summer holidays: fitness lost, fatness regained? A cohort study.

Tim Olds, Dorothea Dumuid, Emily Eglitis, Rebecca Golley, François Fraysse, Aaron Miatke, Grant R Tomkinson, Amanda Watson, Mason Munzberg, Carol Maher

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Health effects of children's summer holiday programs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024
    Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Tim OldsAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Dorothea DumuidAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Emily EglitisAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Rebecca GolleyCaring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia.
François FraysseAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Aaron MiatkeAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Grant R TomkinsonAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Amanda WatsonAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Mason MunzbergAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5000, Australia.
Carol MaherAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, 5000, Australia. carol.maher@unisa.edu.au.
University of South Australia · AUMurdoch Children's Research Institute · AUFlinders University · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEmerging evidence suggests that children's fatness increases and fitness declines at a greater rate during the summer holiday period, compared with the school year. The aim of this study was to compare rates of change in fitness and fatness over the in-term and summer holiday periods among Australian schoolchildren. A secondary aim was to explore whether rates of change differed according to the child's sex, socio-economic status (SES), pubertal status and weight status.

methodsChildren (n = 381) initially in Grade 4 (age 9) were recruited for this 2-year longitudinal study. Fatness (% body fat, BMI z-score, waist-to-height ratio) and fitness (20-m shuttle run and standing broad jump) were measured at the start and end of two consecutive years. Rates of change were calculated for the two in-school periods (Grades 4 and 5) and for the summer holiday period. Rates of change in fatness and fitness between in-school and holiday periods were compared, and differences in rates of change according to sex, socio-economic status, and weight status were explored.

resultsDuring the holidays, percentage body fat increased at a greater rate (annualised rate of change [RoC]: +3.9 vs. Grade 4 and + 4.7 vs. Grade 5), and aerobic fitness declined at a greater rate (RoC - 4.7 vs. Grade 4 and - 4.4 vs. Grade 5), than during the in-school periods. There were no differences in rates of change for BMI z-score, waist-to-height ratio or standing broad jump. Body fatness increased faster in the holidays (relative to the in-school period) in children who are overweight and from low-SES families. Aerobic fitness declined more rapidly in the holidays in children who are overweight.

conclusionThis study highlights that during the summer holiday period, children experience greater increases in fatness and declines in fitness, with children who live with low-SES families and are overweight being more affected. The findings suggest the need for targeted interventions during this period to address these negative health trends.

trial registrationAustralia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, identifier ACTRN12618002008202. Retrospectively registered on 14 December 2018.

Indexed as

HolidaysOverweightAdipose TissueAustraliaBody Mass IndexChildCohort StudiesFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMalePhysical FitnessBody Mass IndexChildFatnessFitnessHolidayObesityShuttle runSocioeconomic statusSummerUse of time

Identifiers

PMID37880621
PMCPMC10601165
OpenAlexW4387936917

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.