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ERIC Number: EJ1166207
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Feb
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-4391
EISSN: N/A
How Healthy Is Homeschool? An Analysis of Body Composition and Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Kabiri, Laura S.; Mitchell, Katy; Brewer, Wayne; Ortiz, Alexis
Journal of School Health, v88 n2 p132-138 Feb 2018
Background: Public school children regularly participate in school-based physical activity, physical education, and fitness testing. However, almost 2 million American children are homeschooled. The purpose of this research was to assess the body composition of elementary school-aged homeschool children and their corresponding cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Methods: This research explored the body composition and CVD risk of 145 homeschool children aged 5-11 years using body mass index (BMI), percent body fat, and waist circumference. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests examined differences in CVD risk within the homeschool population. Results: Overall, homeschool children had average BMI z-scores (SD [range]) with a mean of -0.11 (0.97 [-3.47 to 2.53]). Unhealthy classifications were seen in 11.2% of the sample by BMI, 19.6% by percent body fat, and 49.7% by waist circumference. Statistical analysis revealed no difference in CVD risk between sexes (?[superscript 2](1) = 0.062, p = 0.804) or ethnicities (?[superscript 2](1) = 0.927, p = 0.336) but increased prevalence in children aged 5-9 years (U = 1427, z = -4.559, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Almost half of elementary school-aged homeschool children showed increased risk for CVD and need regular assessment of central adiposity.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A