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Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and White Matter Microstructure in Children with Overweight or Obesity
María Rodriguez-Ayllon1, Irene Esteban-Cornejo1, Juan Verdejo-Román
1PROFITH Research Group, Sport and Health University Research Institute, Department of Physical and Sports Education, University of Granada, Granada, SPAIN.
Insights
Physical activity and reduced sedentary behavior are linked to better white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity. Further research is needed to confirm these findings.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing concern with potential long-term health implications.
- White matter microstructure plays a crucial role in brain development and function.
- Understanding the impact of lifestyle factors on brain health in children is vital.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior with white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity.
- To compare findings from objectively measured PA and sedentary behavior with self-reported data.
- To explore relationships with global and tract-specific white matter integrity.
Main Methods:
- 103 children (aged 10.02 ± 1.15 yr) with overweight/obesity participated.
- Physical activity and sedentary behavior were assessed using accelerometers and the Youth Activity Profile-Spain questionnaire.
- White matter microstructure was evaluated using diffusion tensor imaging to derive fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD).
Main Results:
- Self-reported total PA was positively associated with global FA, while television viewing was negatively associated with global FA.
- Objectively measured light, moderate-to-vigorous, and total PA showed positive associations with global FA when using specific hip-based cut points.
- No significant associations were found between PA/sedentary behavior and FA/MD within individual white matter tracts.
Conclusions:
- Physical activity and reduced sedentary behavior, like watching television, are associated with white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity.
- Objective measures of PA, particularly using specific analytical cut points, revealed significant associations with white matter integrity.
- Longitudinal, large-scale studies are recommended to confirm and expand upon these initial findings.
Purpose:
This study aimed to investigate the associations of objectively measured and self-reported physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior with white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity.
Methods:
In a sample of 103 participants (age, 10.02 ± 1.15 yr; 42 girls) from the ActiveBrains project, we assessed PA and sedentary behavior using accelerometers (GT3X+; ActiGraph, Pensacola, FL), and the Youth Activity Profile-Spain questionnaire. Objectively measured PA and sedentary behavior were classified into different intensities following the hip- and wrist-based cutoff points for the Euclidean Norm Minus One metric by Hildebrand et al., wrist-based cutoff points for counts metric by Chandler et al., and hip-based cutoff points for counts metric for Romanzini et al. and Evenson et al. Magnetic resonance imaging of white matter microstructure, fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD) were derived from diffusion tensor imaging. Linear regression models were used to examine the associations of objectively measured and self-reported PA and sedentary behavior with global and tract-specific FA and MD.
Results:
Self-reported total PA was positively associated with global FA (β = 0.236, P = 0.038), whereas watching television was negatively associated with global FA (β = -0.270, P = 0.014). In regard to the objective measures, using single regression models, light PA (β = 0.273, P = 0.016), moderate-to-vigorous PA (β = 0.257, P = 0.035), and total PA (β = 0.294, P = 0.013) were positively associated with global FA only when Hildebrand-Euclidean Norm Minus One hip cut points were used for analyses. Lastly, no association was found between PA and sedentary behavior and FA and MD within individual tracts.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that PA and watching television are related to white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity. However, longitudinal large-scale studies are needed to confirm and expand these findings.
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