Physical activity, overweight and central adiposity in Swedish children and adolescents: the European Youth Heart Study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work was to study the associations of physical activity (PA) and other factors predisposing to overweight, with overweight and central adiposity in children and adolescents. METHODS: A total of 557 Swedish children (9.5 +/- 0.3 y) and 517 adolescents (15.6 +/- 0.4 y) from the European Youth Heart Study participated in this study. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations of PA, as measured by accelerometry, and other determinants (i.e. television viewing, birth weight, maternal educational level and parental overweight) with total and central adiposity. Body mass index and waist circumference cut-off values proposed by the IOTF and the Bogalusa Heart Study (i.e. waist measures for predicting risk factors clustering, hereinafter called high-risk waist circumference), respectively, were used. Fatness was estimated from skinfold thicknesses and dichotomized using the 85th sex- and age-specific percentile (high/low). RESULTS: Children and adolescents who had a low level (first tertile) of vigorous PA, were more likely to be overweight (including obesity) and to have a high-risk waist circumference, than those with a high level (third tertile) of vigorous PA. Similarly, those subjects who had a low or middle level (second tertile) of total PA were more likely to be overweight than those who had a high level of total PA. Among the PA variables, only vigorous PA was associated with high total fatness. Birth weight and television viewing, were also associated with higher odds of having a high-risk waist circumference, but these associations were attenuated once either total or vigorous PA variable was included in the model. Those subjects who had two overweight parents were more likely to be overweight and to have a high-risk waist circumference independently of PA variables, compared to those whose parents were not overweight. CONCLUSION: Low levels of total PA and especially vigorous PA may play an important role in the development of overweight and excess of central adiposity in children and adolescents, independently of a number of factors such as television viewing and birth weight. In addition, the data suggest that the association between television viewing and central fat deposition could be attenuated if enough vigorous PA is accumulated. Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to confirm these findings.This study was supported by grants from the Stockholm County Council. FBO and JRR were supported by grants from the Consejo Superior de Deportes (109/UPB31/03, 13/UPB20/04), Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España (AP2003-2128, AP2004-2745), EU DG Sanco, project ALPHA (2006120), and the Margit and Folke Pehrzon Foundation

Condición física, adiposidad y autoconcepto en adolescentes. Estudio piloto

Un alto índice de masa corporal y una baja capacidad aeróbica se asocia con un peor autoconcepto. Se ha observado también que personas obesas pero con buena forma física están físicamente sanos, fenómeno conocido como "fat but fit". El presente estudio pretende: 1) determinar la relación entre cantidad de grasa corporal y principales componentes de la condición física con el autoconcepto en adolescentes; 2) testar si el fenómeno fat but fit se asocia con un mejor autoconcepto. Un total de 69 adolescentes (14.68 ± 1.36 años) participaron en la evaluación de la composición corporal y la condición física (Batería ALPHA-Fitness). La capacidad aeróbica (forma vs. no en forma) e índice de masa corporal (normo-peso vs. sobrepeso-obesidad) fueron categorizadas usando criterios estándar. Cinco dimensiones del autoconcepto fueron evaluadas mediante el Cuestionario de Autoconcepto Forma 5. La grasa total y central se correlacionó negativamente con el autoconcepto físico, mientras que la condición física (fuerza, velocidad-agilidad y capa- cidad aeróbica) se correlacionó positivamente (p .3). Los resultados confirman la paradoja fat but fit, el sobrepeso se asocia a un peor autoconcepto físico, pero si se tiene una buena forma física los valores de autoconcepto se igualan a los de los adolescentes con normo-peso.A high body mass index and low level of cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with a poor self-concept. It has also been noted that obese people who are fit are physically healthy, a fact which is known as 'fat but fit'. The present study aims to: 1) determine the association between body fat and the main components of physical fitness and adolescents' self-concept; 2) test whether the phenomenon called 'fat but fit' is related to a better selfconcept. A total of 69 adolescents (14.68 ± 1.36 years old) took part in the body composition and physical fitness evaluation (ALPHA-Fitness Test Battery). Cardiorespiratory fitness (fit vs. not fit) and the body mass index (normal-weight vs. overweight-obesity) were classified using standard criteria. Five dimensions of self-concept were evaluated by means of the Self-Concept Form 5 Questionnaire. Total and central fat was negatively correlated with physical self-concept, whereas physical condition (strength, speed-agility and aerobic capacity) was positively correlated (p < .05 to .001). High levels of fat mass and little speed-agility were correlated with a worse social self-concept (p < .05). The adolescents who were overweight-obese but in good physical condition (fat but fit) showed a higher self-concept than those who were overweight-obese/not fit (p = .006), with similar figures to adolescents with a normal weight

Anti-aging therapy through fitness enhancement

Physical exercise is proposed as a highly effective means of treating and preventing the main causes of morbidity and mortality – most of which are associated with aging – in industrialized countries. Low physical fitness is an important risk factor for cardiovascular and all-causes morbidity and mortality; indeed, it is even a predictor of these problems. When properly measured, the assessment of physical fitness can be a highly valuable indicator of health and life expectancy and, therefore, should be performed routinely in the clinical setting. Individually adapted training programs could be prescribed based on fitness assessment results and an adequate knowledge of patient lifestyle and daily physical activity. Such training programs would allow people to develop their maximum physical potential, improve their physical and mental health, and attenuate the negative consequences of aging

Review of criterion-referenced standards for cardiorespiratory fitness: what percentage of 1 142 026 international children and youth are apparently healthy?

Purpose To identify criterion-referenced standards for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF); to estimate the percentage of children and youth that met each standard; and to discuss strategies to help improve the utility of criterion-referenced standards for population health research. Methods A search of four databases was undertaken to identify papers that reported criterion-referenced CRF standards for children and youth generated using the receiver operating characteristic curve technique. A pseudo-dataset representing the 20-m shuttle run test performance of 1 142 026 children and youth aged 9–17 years from 50 countries was generated using Monte Carlo simulation. Pseudo-data were used to estimate the international percentage of children and youth that met published criterion-referenced standards for CRF. Results Ten studies reported criterion-referenced standards for healthy CRF in children and youth. The mean percentage (±95% CI) of children and youth that met the standards varied substantially across age groups from 36%±13% to 95%±4% among girls, and from 51%±7% to 96%±16% among boys. There was an age gradient across all criterion-referenced standards where younger children were more likely to meet the standards compared with older children, regardless of sex. Within age groups, mean percentages were more precise (smaller CI) for younger girls and older boys. Conclusion There are several CRF criterion-referenced standards for children and youth producing widely varying results. This study encourages using the interim international criterion-referenced standards of 35 and 42 mL/kg/min for girls and boys, respectively, to identify children and youth at risk of poor health—raising a clinical red flag

Comparing estimates of physical activity in children across different cut-points and the associations with weight status

This study aimed to compare sedentary time (SED) and intensity-specific physical activity (PA) estimates and the associations of SED and PA with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) using three different sets of cut-points in preschool-aged children. A total of 751 children (4.7 +/- 0.9 years, boys 52.7%) wore an ActiGraph GT3X+BT accelerometer on their hip for 7 days (24 h). Euclidean norm -1 G with negative values rounded to zero (ENMO) and activity counts from vertical axis (VACounts) and vector magnitude (VMCounts) were derived. Estimates of SED and light, moderate, vigorous, and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were calculated for commonly used cut-points by Hildebrand et al., Butte et al., and Evenson et al. Furthermore, the prevalence of meeting the PA recommendation, 180 min/day of which at least 60 min/day being MVPA, were assessed for the cut-points. Multilevel mixed analysis was used to examine associations of SED and PA with BMI and WC. In accordance with the results, SED and PA intensity estimates differed largely across cut-points (i.e., SED = 22-341 min/day; light PA = 52-257 min/day; moderate PA = 5-18 min/day; vigorous PA = 7-17 min/day; MVPA = 13-35 min/day), and the prevalence of children meeting the PA recommendation varied from 4% to 70%. Associations of SED and PA with BMI or WC varied between the cut-points. Our results indicate that SED and PA estimates in preschool-aged children between studies using these cut-points are poorly comparable. Methods facilitating accelerometer-derived PA estimate comparison between studies are highly warranted.Peer reviewe

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Fatness Are Associated With Health Complaints and Health Risk Behaviors in Youth

We examined the association of cardiorespiratory fitness and fatness with health complaints and health risk behaviors in 691 (323 girls) Spanish children aged 6 to 17.9. Methods: Health complaints and health risk behaviors were self-reported using items of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children questionnaire. Weight and height were measured and body mass index was computed. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured by the 20-m shuttle-run test, and youth categorized as fit/unfit. Results: Unfit youth were more likely to report health complaints sometime (OR: 2.556, 95% CI: 1.299–5.031; and OR: 1.997, 95% CI: 1.162–3.433, respectively) and health risk behaviors such as drinking alcohol sometime (OR: 5.142, 95% CI: 1.214–21.783; and OR: 2.413, 95% CI: 1.484–3.923) than their fit counterparts. Overweight-obese youth were more likely to report health complaints (OR: 1.732, 95% CI: 1.019–2.945; and OR: 1.983, 95% CI: 1.083–3.629, respectively). The analysis of the combined influence of fitness and fatness revealed that fit youth had lower health complaints index than the fat-unfit and unfat-unfit groups (all P < .05). Conclusions: Low fitness and overweight-obesity increased the risk of having health complaints in youth, yet high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness might overcome deleterious effects of overweight-obesity on health complaints

The role of heart rate on the associations between body composition and heart rate variability in children with overweight/obesity : the ActiveBrains project

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) is negatively associated with body mass index and adiposity in several populations. However, less information is available about this association in children with overweight and obesity, especially severe/morbid obesity, taking into consideration the dependence of HRV on heart rate (HR). Objectives: (1) to examine associations between body composition measures and HRV, (2) to study differences in HRV between children with overweight and severe/morbid obesity; and (3) to test whether relationships and differences tested in objectives 1 and 2, respectively are explained by the dependency of HRV on HR. Methods: A total of 107 children with overweight/obesity (58% boys, 10.03 +/- 1.13 years) participated in this study. Body composition measures were evaluated by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). HRV parameters were measured with Polar RS800CXR (R). Results: Body composition measures were negatively associated with HRV indicators of parasympathetic activity (beta values ranging from -0.207 to -0.307, all p 0.05). Conclusion: All associations between adiposity/obesity and HRV could be explained by HR, suggesting a key confounding role of HR in HRV studies in children with weight disturbances

Associations of sleep-related outcomes with behavioral and emotional functioning in children with overweight/obesity

Objective To evaluate the associations of parent-reported sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and deviceassessed sleep behaviors with behavioral and emotional functioning in pediatric patients with overweight/ obesity. Study design A total of 109 children with overweight/obesity (mean age, 10.0 (±) 1.1 years) were included in this cross-sectional study. We used the Spanish version of the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) to assess SDB and its subscales (ie, snoring, daytime sleepiness, and inattention/hyperactivity). Device-assessed sleep behaviors (ie, wake time, sleep onset time, total time in bed, total sleep time, and waking after sleep onset) were estimated using wrist-worn accelerometers. We used the Behavior Assessment System for Children, second edition to assess behavioral and emotional functioning (ie, clinical scale: aggressiveness, hyperactivity, behavior problems, attention problems, atypicality, depression, anxiety, retreat, and somatization; adaptive scale: adaptability, social skills, and leadership). Results SDB was positively associated with all clinical scale variables (all b > 0.197, P ≤ .041) and with lower adaptability and leadership (all b 0.196, P ≤ .045) and lower adaptability (b = 0.246, P = .011). The inattention/hyperactivity subscale was significantly associated with the entire clinical and adaptive scales (all b > |0.192|, P ≤ .046) except for somatization. The snoring subscale and device-assessed sleep behaviors were not related to any behavioral or emotional functioning variables. Conclusions Our study suggests that SDB symptoms, but not deviceassessed sleep behaviors, are associated with behavioral and emotional functioning in children with overweight/obesity. Specifically, daytime sleepiness, a potential SDB symptom, was related to higher attention problems, depression, anxiety, and retreat and lower adaptability. (J Pediatr 2022;246:170-8).The ActiveBrains project was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (DEP2013-47540, DEP2016-79512-R, DEP2017-91544-EXP, and RYC-2011-09011). L.V.T.-L. is supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FPU17/04802). C.C.-S. is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (FJC2018-037925-I). J.H.M. is supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport (FPU15/02645). Additional support was provided by the University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigación 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence, Scientific Excellence Unit on Exercise and Health, by the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades, and European Regional Development Fund (SOMM17/6107/UGR). Funding was also provided by the SAMID III network, RETICS , funded by the PNI + D + I 2017-2021 (Spain), ISCIII Sub-Directorate General for Research Assessment and Promotion, the European Regional Development Fund (RD16/0022 ), the EXERNET Research Network on Exercise and Health ( DEP2005-00046/ACTI ; 09/UPB/19; 45/UPB/20; 27/UPB/21), the European Union's 2020 Research and Innovation Program under Grant Agreement 667302, and the HL-PIVOT network Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection . Additional funding was obtained from the Andalusian Operational Programme supported with European Regional Development Fund (project B-CTS-355-UGR18)

Uso de microfluorescencia de rayos X y otras técnicas nucleares no destructivas para el estudio de joyas y metales arqueológicos

Hoy en día, el estudio de objetos antiguos de metal incluye el análisis por medio de métodos físico-químicos no destructivos desarrollados en las décadas pasadas. Uno de los parámetros más importantes que deben conocerse de una muestra es su composición química, ya que esta información contribuye significativamente a la determinación de varias suposiciones y a la respuesta de muchas preguntas que surgen mientras se estudia un objeto de gran valor histórico. La fluorescencia de rayos X es una técnica bien conocida y muy empleada en el análisis elemental de objetos antiguos de metal y el nuevo desarrollo del microhaz focalizado de rayos X descrito en este texto incrementa su adecuación para el estudio de técnicas antiguas de fabricación y decoración. Esta técnica de análisis superficial se complementa con la técnica de transmisión de rayos gamma, que ha sido utilizada para la estimación de la composición en el interior de monedas de plata-cobre y objetos realizados en otras aleaciones del cobre. Describimos también el sistema de microfluorescencia confocal portátil desarrollado por nuestro Grupo para la obtención de perfiles en profundidad de forma no destructiva.The study of ancient metal artefacts includes nowadays the non-destructive analysis by means of chemical-physical methods developed in the past decades. One of the most important parameters to be known from a sample is its chemical composition, as this information significantly contributes to the determination of several assumptions and to the response of many questions arisen from the study of a valuable heritage object. X-ray fluorescence is a well-known technique very much employed for the elemental analysis of ancient metal artefacts and the new implementation of a microfocused X-ray beam described in this text increases its applicability for the study of manufacture and decorative ancient techniques. This surface analytical method is complemented with the Gamma Ray Transmission technique, which has been employed in the bulk composition estimation of silver-copper coins and other copper based alloy samples. We also describe a portable confocal microfluorescence system developed by our Group to obtain non-destructive depth profiles.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España) HAR2012-33002Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España) HAR2015-67113-PJunta de Andalucía P09-HUM454

Revisiting the association of sedentary behavior and physical activity with all-cause mortality using a compositional approach: the Women's Health Study

This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (CA154647, CA047988, CA182913, HL043851, HL080467, and HL099355). EJS was supported by the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute on Aging. JHM was supported by a Grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (FPU15/02645). CC-S was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (FJC2018-037925-I). Additional funding was provided by the University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigacion 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence; Scientific Excellence Unit on Exercise and Health (UCEES) to FBO. The funders had no role in preparing and conducting this manuscript, in interpreting and deciding to publish the results, or in drafting the manuscript. drafting this manuscript. Open Access funding provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).Background: While physical activity has consistently been associated with decreased mortality rates, it remains unknown if there is a single “ideal” combination of time in physical activities of different intensities and sedentary behavior (SB) associated with the lowest rate. This study examined the associations of combinations of time in moderate-to-vigorous intensity (MVPA), higher-light intensity (HLPA), lower-light intensity activities (LLPA), and SB with mortality rates in older women. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 16,676 older women from throughout the United States enrolled in the Women’s Health Study. Women wore accelerometers on their hip from 2011 to 2015 and were followed through 2017 (mean (SD) of 4.3 (1.1) years). Deaths were confirmed with medical records, death certificates, or the National Death Index. Compositional Cox regression models were used. Results: The mean (SD) age was 72 (5.7) years at accelerometer wear; 503 women died. Compared to the least active women (mean, 3 min/day MVPA, 27 min/day HLPA, 162 min/day LLPA, and 701 min/day SB): compositional models showed an inverse L-shaped dose-response association of MVPA replacing other behaviors with mortality rates mortality rates (P = .02); SB relative to LLPA, HLPA, and MVPA was directly associated with mortality rates in a curvilinear dose-response manner (P < .001); replacing 10 min of SB for MVPA (HR (95% CI) = .86 (.73–.98)) or for HLPA (HR (95% CI.94 (.88–1.00)) associated with 14 and 6% lower mortality rates, respectively; a 47% risk reduction (HR [95% CI] = .53 [.42–.64]) was observed among women meeting physical activity guidelines (mean, 36 min/day MVPA, 79 min/day HLPA, 227 min/day LLPA and 549 min/day SB); and similar mortality rate reductions of 43% (HR (95% CI) = .57 (.41–.73)) were observed with increases in HLPA and LLPA without increasing MVPA, e.g., reallocating SB to 90 min/day of HLPA plus 120 min/day of LLPA. Conclusions: There was no “ideal” combination of physical activities of different intensities and SB associated with the lowest mortality rates. Of particular relevance to older women, replacing SB with light intensity activity was associated with lower mortality rates, and “mixing and matching” times in different intensities yielded equivalent mortality risk reductions.United States Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA CA154647 CA047988 CA182913 HL043851 HL080467 HL099355Intramural Research Program at the National Institute on AgingSpanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport FPU15/02645Spanish Government FJC2018-037925-IUniversity of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigacion 2016, Excellence actions: Units of ExcellenceScientific Excellence Unit on Exercise and Health (UCEES)United States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - US