Objectively measured physical activity and its association with adiponectin and other novel metabolic markers: a longitudinal study in children (EarlyBird 38)
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Brad S Metcalf1, Alison N Jeffery, Joanne Hosking
1Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Peninsula Medical School, Plymouth Campus, Plymouth, UK. brad.metcalf@phnt.swest.nhs.uk
Insights
In children, low physical activity is linked to higher adiponectin levels, not insulin resistance. This suggests adiponectin may have a selective insulin-sensitizing effect in less active youth.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric metabolic health
- Exercise physiology
- Biomarkers of metabolic disturbance
Background:
- Traditional metabolic disturbance markers show weak correlation with physical activity in children.
- Emerging metabolic markers may offer better insights into activity-related health.
- Understanding these relationships is crucial for pediatric health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between objective physical activity measurements and newer metabolic markers in children.
- To determine if physical activity correlates with adiponectin, leptin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and insulin resistance.
- To explore these associations independently of body fat percentage.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 213 healthy children aged 5-8 years in Plymouth, U.K.
- Objective physical activity recorded annually using MTI accelerometers over 7 days.
- Metabolic markers (adiponectin, leptin, hsCRP, insulin resistance) and body fat measured at age 8.
Main Results:
- Physical activity did not correlate with insulin resistance, leptin, or hsCRP, independent of body fat.
- An inverse correlation was found between physical activity and adiponectin (r = -0.18, P = 0.02).
- Adiponectin levels were highest in the least active tertile, while insulin resistance did not differ across activity levels.
Conclusions:
- Children with the lowest physical activity levels exhibit the highest adiponectin concentrations.
- Insulin resistance levels were not significantly different across physical activity groups.
- Findings suggest a potential selective insulin-sensitizing effect of adiponectin at low levels of physical activity in children.
Objective:
Recent evidence suggests that, in children, traditional markers of metabolic disturbance are related only weakly to physical activity. We therefore sought to establish the corresponding relationships with newer metabolic markers.
Research Design And Methods:
This was a nonintervention longitudinal study of 213 healthy children recruited from 54 schools in Plymouth, U.K. MTI accelerometers were used to make objective 7-day recordings of physical activity at ages 5 +/- 0.3 (mean +/- SD), 6, 7, and 8 years. Overall physical activity was taken as the average of the four annual time points. The metabolic markers at 8 years were adiponectin, leptin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment). Potential confounders included percent body fat measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and diet measured by food frequency questionnaire.
Results:
Whereas physical activity did not correlate with insulin resistance (r = -0.01), leptin (r = +0.04), or hsCRP (r = +0.01) independently of percent body fat, it did correlate with adiponectin, but inversely (r = -0.18, P = 0.02). This unexpected inverse relationship was strongest among the less active children (physical activity < median: r = -0.30, P = 0.01) but negligible in the more active children (physical activity > median: r = +0.04, P = 0.76). Adiponectin was significantly higher (0.52 SD, P < 0.01) in the least active tertile compared with the other two tertiles. Insulin resistance, however, did not differ across the physical activity tertiles (P = 0.62).
Conclusions:
Adiponectin levels in children are highest among those who are least active, but their insulin resistance is no different. Adiponectin has a known insulin-sensitizing effect, and our findings are consistent with a selective effect at low levels of physical activity.
