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Bi-directional prospective associations between sedentary time, physical activity and adiposity in 10-year old

Turid Skrede1,2, Eivind Aadland1, Sigmund Alfred Anderssen1,2

  • 1Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway.

Journal of Sports Sciences
|July 20, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Physical activity and sedentary time do not predict future adiposity in children. Instead, higher baseline adiposity predicts more sedentary time and less vigorous physical activity (PA) in boys.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Exercise Science
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • Cross-sectional studies show associations between sedentary time, physical activity (PA), and adiposity.
  • Inconsistent findings raise questions about the directionality of these relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the bi-directional prospective associations between sedentary time, different intensities of PA, and adiposity indicators in children.
  • To clarify the causal pathways between lifestyle factors and obesity development.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Active Smarter Kids Study, including 869 ten-year-old children.
  • Measured sedentary time and PA using accelerometry.
  • Assessed adiposity via body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and sum of four skinfolds (S4SF) at baseline and follow-up.

Main Results:

  • Neither overall PA nor sedentary time predicted future BMI or WC.
  • Moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and vigorous PA (VPA) predicted lower S4SF in boys.
  • Baseline adiposity measures (BMI, WC) predicted reduced overall PA, MVPA, and VPA in boys.
  • Adiposity predicted increased sedentary time in boys at follow-up.

Conclusions:

  • Overall PA and sedentary time do not appear to predict future adiposity in children.
  • Higher baseline adiposity may lead to increased sedentary behavior and decreased higher-intensity PA in boys.
  • Findings suggest adiposity may influence lifestyle behaviors, rather than vice versa.

Keywords:
AccelerometerMVPAintensitylongitudinaloverweight

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