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Preschool physical activity level and change in body fatness in young children. The Framingham Children's Study
L L Moore1, U S Nguyen, K J Rothman
1Evans Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, MA 02118, USA.
Insights
Preschool physical activity impacts childhood body fat. Inactive children gained more fat, highlighting the importance of early movement for healthy weight development.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Childhood Obesity Research
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
- Early life physical activity may influence long-term body composition.
- Understanding preschool physical activity's role is crucial for intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between physical activity levels in preschool and changes in body fatness.
- To determine if higher physical activity in early childhood predicts less body fat gain.
- To analyze gender differences in the relationship between physical activity and body fat change.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study analyzing data from the Framingham Children's Study.
- Inclusion of 97 healthy children aged 3-5 years with complete follow-up data.
- Objective assessment of physical activity using electronic motion sensors twice yearly.
- Estimation of body fat change using skinfold measurements (triceps, subscapular) and body mass index (BMI).
Main Results:
- Inactive girls gained significantly more triceps skinfold thickness (1.75 mm) than active girls (1.0 mm).
- Inactive boys gained triceps skinfold thickness (0.25 mm), while active boys lost (0.75 mm).
- Inactive preschoolers were 3.8 times more likely to show increasing triceps skinfold measurements compared to active preschoolers, even after controlling for confounding factors.
Conclusions:
- Low physical activity in preschool is associated with substantial increases in subcutaneous fat.
- Promoting physical activity in early childhood may be a key strategy to prevent excessive body fat gain.
- Findings underscore the critical role of early childhood physical activity in establishing healthy body composition trajectories.
Abstract:
This study examined the effect of preschool physical activity on the change in body fatness from preschool to first grade. The Framingham Children's Study, a longitudinal study of childhood cardiovascular risk behaviors, began in 1987 with the enrollment of 106 children aged 3-5 years and their parents. The present analyses include 97 healthy children with complete data from study entry into first grade. Physical activity was assessed twice yearly for 5 days with an electronic motion sensor. The authors estimated change in the child's level of body fat from preschool to first grade by using the slopes of triceps and subscapular skinfolds and body mass index. On average, active girls (i.e., those with above-median activity levels) gained 1.0 mm in their triceps skinfolds from baseline to first grade, while inactive girls gained 1.75 mm. Active boys lost an average of 0.75 mm in their triceps, while inactive boys gained 0.25 mm. When age, television viewing, energy intake, baseline triceps, and parents' body mass indices were controlled for, inactive preschoolers were 3.8 (95% confidence interval 1.4-10.6) times as likely as active preschoolers to have an increasing triceps slope during follow up (rather than a stable or decreasing slope). This relative risk estimate was slightly higher for children with more body fat at baseline. In this study, preschool-aged children with low levels of physical activity gained substantially more subcutaneous fat than did more active children.