Physical Activity Intensity and Risk of Overweight and Adiposity in Children

Abstract

background: Physical activity recommendations for children focus on duration of activity and underemphasize intensity. objective: To evaluate the relationship between physical activity (intensity and duration) and the odds of being overweight, >20% body fat and >25% body fat. Methods and Procedures: Body fat, BMI and physical activity (accelerometry) were measured in children (n = 251) aged 8-10 years. Physical activity was quantified as time in moderate physical activity (MPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA). Results: Prevalence of overweight and obesity were 18 and 11.6%, respectively. Regression indicated that VPA, not MPA, is associated with body fat (r = 0.35, P < 0.001) and BMI (r = 0.26, P < 0.001). Odds ratio demonstrated a significant impact of MPA and VPA on body composition. Children performing ≤5 min/day of VPA are 4.0 times more likely to have ≥20% body fat (P < 0.001), 2.9 times more likely to have ≥25% body fat (P < 0.05) and 5.2 times more likely to be classified as overweight (P < 0.01) compared to children performing ≥15 min/day. Those performing ≤15 min/day of MPA vs. >45 min/day MPA are at 4.2 increased odds of having ≥20% body fat (P < 0.001), and 3.0 increased odds of having ≥25% (P < 0.01). Discussion: Lower durations of both MPA and VPA are associated with increased odds of overweight and adiposity. Forty-five minutes of MPA and fifteen minutes of VPA were associated with reduced body fat and BMI. We recommend that these amounts are used to develop minimum physical activity intensity guidelines for the prevention and treatment of obesity.

Impact of Lifestyles of Adolescents and Their Parents on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Adolescents

“…Physical activity, especially moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, is associated with beneficial metabolic profiles 8,16) . In the present study, time spent on exercise was associated with lower risks of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance, as shown by simple regression analysis; however, multivariate regression analysis showed that participation in EC Data are expressed as the mean (standard deviation).…”

“…Obesity is associated with a cluster of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, including abdominal obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, which have collectively been termed metabolic syndrome in both children and adults 3,4) . It is well known that the development of CV risk factors, including obesity, is associated with adverse behavioral patterns, such as decreased physical activity [5][6][7][8] , increased sedentary lifestyle, in particular television (TV) watching [8][9][10][11] , and unhealthy dietary habits 5,[11][12][13][14][15][16] . Parental obesity is also strongly associated…”

Step-count guidelines referenced on 60-minutes of moderate/vigorous physical activity

“…A series of studies was conducted using BMI as the reference variable to determine step-count cutoffs (Laurson et al, 2008;McCormack, Rutherford, Giles-Corti, Tudor-Locke, & Bull, 2011;Tudor-Locke et al, 2004), but BMI often misrepresents the weight problem of children due to its inability to account for maturation status and muscle mass (Nihiser et al, 2007). Duncan, Schofield, and Duncan (2007) improved upon the use of BMI by choosing body fat percentage as the criterion variable to select cutoffs, but neither BMI nor body fat are direct measures of physical activity behavior, and the correlation between body composition measures and physical activity behavior has generally been weak (Ribeiro et al, 2003;Wittmeier, Mollard, & Kriellaars, 2008). Several of these studies also determined step-count cutoffs by multiples of 1,000 steps (Duncan et al, 2007;McCormack et al, 2011;Rowlands & Eston, 2005;Tudor -Locke et al, 2004;Vincent & Pangrazi, 2002), which may significantly misrepresent the assessment of physical activity habits (i.e.…”

Perceived parental food controlling practices are related to obesogenic or leptogenic child life style behaviors

“…Aim of the present study is to further research the two parental food controlling practices pressure and restriction as possible risk factors for overweight, this time by determining their relationships with various possible risk factors for overweight, specifically: Snacking, skipping a breakfast meal, low fruit consumption, physical inactivity and much time spend on screen media (television or computer) (Berkey, Rockett, Gillman, Field, & Coditz, 2003;Blass, Anderson, Kirkorian, Pempek, & Koleini, 2006;Hancox, Milne, & Poulton, 2004;Lin & Morrison, 2002;Snoek, Van Strien, Janssens, & Engels, 2007;Wittmeier, Mollard, & Kriellaars, 2008).…”