ATIVIDADE FÍSICA E QUALIDADE DE VIDA DA CRIANÇA COM SOBREPESO OU OBESIDADE

Introduction: Childhood obesity is a multifactorial condition characterized by excess body fat in children and adolescents, generating an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, associated with genetic, environmental and socioeconomic factors. Objective: to understand the factors that influence the level of physical activity of overweight and obese children, as well as the existence of osteoarticular problems and quality of life of these children. Methods: this is a cross-sectional study, in which an online questionnaire was applied to parents together with children aged 4 to 12 years who were overweight or obese. Results: the study included the participation of 30 children, who after the application of the exclusion criteria formed part of the final sample of 22 children, whose profile covered the average age of 7.91 years, female gender for 11 (50%) and male gender for 11 (50%) of the children. And 18 (81.8%) were obese and 4 (18.2%) were overweight, 17 (77.27%) obtained a score above the cutoff of 48 points, indicating a satisfactory quality of life for most of the participating children. Discussion: postural and orthopedic changes and muscle pain are common in children with obesity and overweight. These children may have a low capacity for functional tasks and gross motor skills. Childhood obesity can influence aspects of social and school life, and be associated with low self-esteem behaviors in children. Conclusion: the factors that influence the level of physical activity of children with overweight and childhood obesity start from the existence of orthopedic changes. The habits and lifestyles of children in relation to playing outdoors, excessive time spent in front of screens, and the consumption of processed foods, require the family to receive parental education. And the quality of life measured by the research instrument was satisfactory for the children in the research.