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Association of Physical Activity and Cardiometabolic Risk in Children 3-12 Years
Insights
Physical activity in children (3-12 years) showed no link to overall cardio-metabolic risk. However, increased physical activity was weakly associated with lower systolic blood pressure and waist-to-height ratio.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Cardio-metabolic Health
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood obesity and cardio-metabolic risk are growing public health concerns.
- Understanding the role of physical activity in mitigating these risks is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between physical activity and cardio-metabolic risk score in children aged 3-12 years.
- To explore the relationship between physical activity and individual cardio-metabolic risk factors.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study with repeated measures from a Canadian primary care network.
- Mixed effects models analyzed parent-reported physical activity against total cardio-metabolic risk score and individual factors.
- Included data from 1885 children with 2670 visits.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant association was found between physical activity and the total cardio-metabolic risk score.
- A weak inverse association was observed between physical activity and systolic blood pressure.
- Physical activity showed a weak inverse association with waist-to-height ratio.
Conclusions:
- Parent-reported physical activity in children aged 3-12 years is not statistically linked to overall cardio-metabolic risk.
- Physical activity demonstrates a weak association with improved systolic blood pressure and waist-to-height ratio in children.
Background:
This study aimed to examine the association between physical activity (PA) and a total cardio metabolic risk (CMR) score in children aged 3-12 years. Secondary objectives were to examine the association between PA and individual CMR factors.
Methods:
A longitudinal study with repeated measures was conducted with participants from a large primary care practice-based research network in Toronto, Canada. Mixed effects models were used to examine the relationship between parent-reported physical activity and outcome variables (total CMR score, triglycerides, glucose, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, weight-to-height ratio, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol).
Results:
Data from 1885 children (6.06 y, 54.4% male) with multiple visits (n = 2670) were included in the analyses. For every unit increase of 60 minutes of PA, there was no evidence of an association with total CMR score (adjusted: -0.02 [-0.014 to 0.004], P = .11]. For the individual CMR components, there was evidence of a weak association between PA and systolic blood pressure (-0.01 [-0.03 to -0.01], P < .001) and waist-to-height ratio (-0.81 [-1.62 to -0.003], P < .001).
Conclusion:
Parent-reported PA among children aged 3-12 years was not statistically associated with total CMR, but was weakly associated with systolic blood pressure and waist-to-height ratio.
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