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Health-Related Factors in Rural and Urban Mexican Adolescents: The HELENA-MEX Study

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Submitted:

31 October 2020

Posted:

02 November 2020

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Abstract
Mexico shows a high prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents. Geographical location and cultural environment could play a role in the promotion of healthy lifestyles in terms of physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB) and nutrition. The purpose of this study was to assess rural and urban differences in body composition (BC), physical fitness (PF), PA and nutritional status of adolescents from the state of Jalisco (Mexico). The study involved 469 students aged 13-17 years (55.0% girls) from 8 high schools. BC was analyzed by bioimpedance, and PF by standardized field tests. Objective measurements of PA and SB were taken in a subsample (n=240). Energy intake (EI) was calculated from two 24h recalls. Rural residents presented a higher prevalence of overweight, waist circumference, trunk fat mass, regional fat free mass and muscle handgrip strength (all p<0.05, ηp2<0.06). Cardiorespiratory fitness was similar among participants, whereas urban adolescents showed higher muscle power, speed-agility and flexibility scores (all p<0.05, ηp2<0.07). Overall lifestyle behavior in urban adolescents was more sedentary (p<0.05, ηp2= 0.11). EI was similar in both locations. In conclusion, urban Mexican adolescents presented a generally higher sedentary behavior and better fitness and fatness profile than their rural peers.
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Subject: Biology and Life Sciences  -   Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
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