1. Fitness, body composition, and metabolic risk scores in children and adolescents: the UP&DOWN study
- Author
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Alejandro Sánchez-Delgado, Alejandro Pérez-Bey, Rocío Izquierdo-Gómez, José Jimenez-Iglesias, Ascensión Marcos, Sonia Gómez-Martínez, María José Girela-Rejón, Oscar L Veiga, and José Castro-Piñero
- Subjects
Muscular strength ,Youth ,Aerobic capacity ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Cardiovascular disease ,Adiposity - Abstract
We aimed to analyse the longitudinal association between physical fitness (PF) and body composition (BC) with a metabolic risk score (Met4) in children and adolescents and to elucidate whether the association between PF and Met4 differs when using relativized or absolute fitness variables. A total of 188 children (86 females) and 195 adolescents (97 females) were included. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was determined by the 20-m shuttle run test, and muscular fitness (MF) was determined by hand grip and standing long jump tests. Height and weight were measured, and the body mass index (Kg/ m2) was calculated. Triceps and subscapular skinfolds were assessed to compute body fat percentage. Met4 was computed from systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and glucose levels. Relative CRF was longitudinally and negatively associated with Met4 in female children (β = −0.031, p = 0.025), while absolute CRF was positively associated with Met4 in male children and adolescents (β = 0.000, p < 0.05). Relative upper and lower-body MF were longitudinally and negatively associated with Met4 in female adolescents (β = −1.347, β = −0.005, p < 0.05), while absolute lower-body MF was positively associated with Met4 in male children (β = 0.000, p = 0.019). BC was longitudinally and positively associated with Met4 in male children (β-ranging from 0.011 to 0.055, all p < 0.05) and male adolescents (β-ranging from 0.011 to 0.046, all p < 0.05). Conclusion: BC is more strongly associated with Met4 than PF in children and adolescents. An optimal body weight status should be considered the main objective of health-promoting programs at childhood and adolescence. Furthermore, the way of expressing the fitness variables determines the direction of the association with Met4., CRUE-CSIC, National Plan for Research, Development, and Innovation (R + D + i) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation DEP 201021662-C04-00 DEP 2010-21662-C04-01 DEP 2010-21662-C04-02 DEP 2010-21662-C04-03 DEP 2010-21662-C04-04
- Published
- 2022