title: Evidence of the influence of physical activity on the metabolic syndrome and/or on insulin resistance in pediatric populations: a systematic review.
abstract: This study is aimed at updating the relationships between physical activity (PA) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and/or insulin resistance (IR) in youth. Cross-sectional, prospective cohort and intervention studies, which examined the effect of PA on MetS, its components and IR in children and adolescents (<18 yrs), were searched by applying a combination of criteria in the PubMed database. The electronic search of studies published from 2000-2010 yielded >150 references. Of these, 37 studies were included. Twenty-six studies (70%) were cross-sectional observation studies, and two studies (8%) were prospective cohort studies. The remaining eight studies (22%) were interventions, of which three (<10% of all included studies) were randomized controlled trials. Commonly, higher PA levels were consistently associated with an improved metabolic profile and a reduced risk for MetS and/or IR in these populations. The impact of PA on MetS and/or IR appeared to be either independent of other factors, or alternatively or simultaneously mediated by the physical fitness and adiposity of youth. However, more-robustly designed interventions (i.e., some mega-randomized controlled trials based on lifestyle interventions) and additional cohort studies are required to make definitive inference about the magnitude and role of PA as a single genuine preventive and treatment strategy for the metabolic and cardiovascular risk of youth in the current obesogenic context.
authors.affiliation: EA 2694, Laboratory of Public Health, Faculty for Health engineering and management, UDSL/ILIS, University Lille-Northern France, France. benjamin.guinhouya@univ-lille2.fr
authors.forename: Benjamin C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Guinhouya
authors.forename: Hanen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Samouda
authors.forename: Djamel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zitouni
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vilhelm
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hubert
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000209:etiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness