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Body Composition as a Mediator between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Bone Mass during Growth
Irene Rodríguez-Gómez, María Martín-García, Beatriz García-Cuartero1
1Endocrinology and Diabetes Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Severo Ochoa Hospital, SPAIN.
Insights
Lean mass (LM) and fat mass (%FM) mediate bone mass in children. While both are mediators in prepuberty, only LM remains a significant mediator into puberty, highlighting its growing importance for bone health.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric endocrinology
- Exercise physiology
- Bone health research
Background:
- Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscle power output (MPO) are crucial for bone mass development.
- Lean mass (LM) and fat mass (%FM) are key body composition components influencing bone health.
- Understanding mediation pathways is vital for optimizing bone mass accrual during childhood growth and maturation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how CRF and MPO affect bone mass in prepubertal and pubertal children.
- To determine the mediating roles of LM and %FM in the relationship between physical fitness and bone mass.
- To test the hypothesis that LM and %FM independently mediate these associations during sexual maturation.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 200 children (11.5 ± 2.0 years) stratified by pubertal status.
- Body composition assessed via bone densitometry.
- CRF (V˙O2peak) and MPO measured using indirect calorimetry and cycle ergometry.
Main Results:
- In prepubertal children, LM and %FM independently mediated the effects of CRF/MPO on bone mass (LM: 22%-25%, %FM: 37%-50%).
- In pubertal children, LM remained a significant mediator (37%), while %FM's mediating role diminished.
- These findings indicate a shift in the influence of body composition mediators as children mature.
Conclusions:
- The mediating roles of LM and %FM in the CRF/MPO-bone mass relationship differ between prepubertal and pubertal stages.
- LM's importance as a mediator for bone mass increases with growth and sexual maturation.
- %FM's influence as a mediator appears to decrease during pubertal development, suggesting a shift towards LM's dominance in bone health regulation.
Introduction And Purpose:
To examine the effect of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscle power output (MPO) on bone mass of prepubertal and pubertal children using lean mass (LM) and percentage of fat mass (%FM) as mediator variables. The hypothesis was that both LM and %FM would be independent mediators of the relationships during the sexual maturation period.
Methods:
We analyzed 200 children (88 boys and 112 girls [11.5 ± 2.0 yr]). Body composition was analyzed by bone densitometry, and indirect calorimetry and cycle ergometer were used to calculate V˙O2peak (mL·kg·min) and MPO (W) during an incremental exercise test. Sample was divided by pubertal status.
Results:
In the prepubertal group, LM and %FM acted independently as mediators in the relationship between bone mass and CRF or MPO (22%-25% for LM and 37%-50% for %FM, respectively). In pubertal children, LM acted as mediator at 37%.
Conclusions:
Although the independent mediator role of LM and %FM in the associations between CRF or MPO and bone mass was present during the prepubertal stage, only LM remain its mediator role in these associations during the postpubertal period. Therefore, with growth and sexual maturation, the full effect of LM seems to increase, whereas the influence of %FM seems to disappear.
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