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Cross-sectional and prospective associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity and sedentary time with
A Marques1, C Minderico1,2, S Martins2
1Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudo da Performance Humana, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Department of Sports and health, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
Insights
Promoting moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is crucial for preventing childhood adiposity. Higher MVPA levels are linked to lower body fat in children, independent of sedentary time.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Exercise Science
- Body Composition Analysis
Background:
- Physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (SED) are implicated in childhood adiposity.
- Limited data exists on the temporal relationship between PA, SED, and adiposity in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine cross-sectional and prospective associations between physical activity, sedentary time, and body composition in children.
- Investigate the role of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and SED in adiposity.
Main Methods:
- 510 children (aged 10.1–11.8 years) from Portuguese schools.
- Accelerometry for PA and SED measurement.
- Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for fat mass assessment (TFM, BFM) and calculated Fat Mass Index (FMI).
- Regression models adjusted for covariates.
Main Results:
- MVPA was inversely associated with adiposity indexes (FMI, TFM, BFM) cross-sectionally.
- Prospectively, higher MVPA predicted lower FMI, TFM, and BFM, even after adjusting for covariates.
- SED showed limited association with adiposity indexes, except for FMI.
Conclusions:
- Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is independently associated with lower adiposity in children.
- Promoting MVPA is a key strategy for preventing adiposity gain in healthy children.
Background:
Physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (SED) have both been suggested as potential risk factors for adiposity in children. However, there is paucity of data examining the temporal associations between these variables.
Objective:
This study aimed to analyze the cross-sectional and prospective associations between PA, SED and body composition in children.
Methods:
A total of 510 children (age at baseline 10.1±0.8, age at follow-up 11.8±0.9) from six Portuguese schools from the Oeiras Municipality participated in this study. PA and SED were measured by accelerometry and trunk fat mass (TFM) and body fat mass (BFM) were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Fat mass index (FMI) was calculated as BFM divided by height squared. Several regression models adjusted for age, sex, maturity status, follow-up duration, baseline levels of the outcome variable and SED or moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) were performed.
Results:
MVPA (min per day) was cross-sectionally inversely associated with adiposity indexes (FMI, TFM and BFM). Adiposity indexes were inversely associated with time in MVPA. In prospective analyses, MVPA was associated with a lower levels of FMI (β=-0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.49 to -0.26, P<0.001), TFM (β=-0.20, 95% CI: -0.29 to -0.10, P<0.001) and BFM (β=-0.37, 95% CI: -0.49 to -0.26, P<0.001). When the model was adjusted for age, sex, maturity status and for baseline levels of the outcome variables MVPA remained a significant predictor of lower adiposity indexes (FMI: β=-0.09, 95% CI: -0.16 to -0.01, P<0.05; TFM: β=-0.08, 95% CI: -0.15 to -0.01, P<0.05; BFM: β=-0.07, 95% CI: -0.15 to 0.00, P<0.05). Adiposity was not associated with MVPA when modeled as the exposure in prospective analyses. SED was not related with adiposity indexes, except for the relationship with FMI.
Conclusions:
In cross-sectional and prospective analyses, MVPA is associated with lower adiposity independent of covariates and SED. Results suggest that promoting MVPA is important for preventing gain in adiposity in healthy children.
