title: Adults born at very low birth weight exercise less than their peers born at term.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the effects of very low birth weight (VLBW, <1500 g) birth on physical activity, an important protective and modifiable factor.
  
  
  METHODS
  VLBW participants (n=163) with no major disability and 188 individuals born at term (mean age, 22.3 years; range, 18.5-27.1) completed a standardized questionnaire of physical activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  VLBW participants reported less leisure-time conditioning physical activity. They were 1.61-fold more likely to "not exercise much," 1.61-fold more likely to exercise infrequently (once a week or less), 2.75-fold more likely to exercise with low intensity (walking), and 3.11-fold more likely to have short exercise sessions (<30 minutes). The differences were present even in subjects with no history of bronchopulmonary dysplasia or asthma and were only slightly attenuated when adjusted for height, parental education, lean body mass, and percent body fat.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Unimpaired adults who were VLBW exercise less during their leisure time than adults born at term. Promoting physical activity may be particularly important in the VLBW population to counteract the risks of chronic disease in adult life.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, Helsinki, Finland. eero.kajantie@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Eero
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kajantie
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strang-Karlsson
authors.forename: Petteri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hovi
authors.forename: Katri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Räikkönen
authors.forename: Anu-Katriina
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Pesonen
authors.forename: Kati
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heinonen
authors.forename: Anna-Liisa
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Järvenpää
authors.forename: Johan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.forename: Sture
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andersson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015444:Exercise; D005865:Gestational Age; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007899:Leisure Activities; D010379:Peer Group; D055815:Young Adult