Anthropometric characteristics, functional capacity of exercise, and physical activity of children who suffered burns

ABSTRACT This study aimed to analyze the anthropometric characteristics, functional capacity of exercise, and physical activity of children who suffered burns. It also aimed to verify whether there is association between the anthropometric and physical activity variables and the severity of the burns, after hospital discharge. Nutritional status, regular physical activity, and functional capacity of exercise were evaluated by z-score, “Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children,” and six-minute walk test (6MWT), respectively. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to verify the normality of the data. Fisher’s exact test was used to study the association among the qualitative variables. A statistical significance of 5% was adopted. The mean age was 10.0±2.7 years old, and most participants were classified as greatly burned. After 12.7±5.5 months of hospital discharge, 13 (61.9%) participants were eutrophic and 7 (33.3%) were shorter than expected. Regarding physical activity, 11 (52.3%) were classified as active, and the mean distance traveled in the 6MWT was 564.7±70.6 m. There was no significant difference in the association between the variables eutrophic or overweight and active or sedentary (p=0.65) nor between moderately or greatly burned and active or sedentary (p=0.31). The findings showed no association of children classified as greatly burned or overweight/obese with sedentary lifestyle. There was also no reduction of functional capacity of exercise, even with some participants presenting changes in anthropometric data and being sedentary.