Association of physical activity with body-composition indexes in children aged 6-8 y at varied risk of obesity.
BACKGROUND
Physical inactivity increases the risk of obesity, but the relations between reported levels of physical activity (PA) and measures of body fatness (BF) in children are remarkably inconsistent.


OBJECTIVE
We examined the relation between objective measures of PA and body-composition indexes in nonobese children.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted in 100 children aged 6-8 y who were recruited according to their risk of future obesity: high-risk children had >/=1 obese parent [body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)): >30] and low-risk children had 2 nonobese biological parents (BMI: <30). Free-living activity energy expenditure (AEE) and PA level were calculated from 7-d doubly labeled water measurements, time spent in light-intensity activity was assessed by heart rate monitoring, and body composition was determined from isotopic dilution. To adjust for body size, fat mass and fat-free mass were normalized for height and expressed as fat mass index (FMI) and lean mass index (LMI), respectively.


RESULTS
High-risk children had significantly higher BMI, LMI, and FMI than did low-risk children, but no group differences in PA were found. AEE and PA level were positively associated with LMI and, after adjustment for sex and fat-free mass, negatively associated with FMI but not with BMI. Boys who spent more than the median time in light-intensity activities had significantly higher FMI than did less sedentary boys. This difference was not observed in girls.


CONCLUSIONS
AEE and PA level were negatively associated with BF in nonobese children. Accurate measures of body composition are essential to appropriate assessment of relations between PA and obesity risk.
Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom. krl1000@cam.ac.uk
Kirsten L
KL
Rennie
M Barbara E
MB
Livingstone
Jonathan C K
JC
Wells
A
A
McGloin
W Andrew
WA
Coward
Andrew M
AM
Prentice
Susan A
SA
Jebb
D001823:Body Composition; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution