title: Lower conditioning leisure-time physical activity in young adults born preterm at very low birth weight.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adults born preterm at very low birth weight (VLBW, <1500 g) have elevated levels of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Preliminary observations suggest that this could partly be explained by lower rates of physical activity. The aim of this study was to assess physical activity in healthy young adults born preterm at very low birth weight compared with term-born controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We studied 94 unimpaired young adults, aged 21-29 years, born at VLBW and 101 age-, sex-, and birth hospital-matched term-born controls from one regional center in Southern Finland. The participants completed a validated 30-item 12-month physical activity questionnaire and the NEO-Personality Inventory based on the Big Five taxonomy, the most commonly used classification of personality traits. Yearly frequency, total time, total volume and energy expenditure of conditioning and non-conditioning leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and commuting physical activity were compared between VLBW and term-born subjects. A subset of participants underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry for body composition measurement. Data were analyzed by multiple linear regression. Compared with controls, VLBW participants had lower frequency [-38.5% (95% CI; -58.9, -7.7)], total time [-47.4% (95% CI; -71.2, -4.1)], total volume [-44.3% (95% CI; -65.8, -9.2)] and energy expenditure [-55.9% (95% CI; -78.6, -9.4)] of conditioning LTPA when adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, parental education and personality traits. Adjusting for lean body mass instead of body mass index attenuated the difference. There were no differences in non-conditioning LTPA or commuting physical activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared with term-born controls, unimpaired VLBW adults undertake less frequent LTPA with lower total time and volume of exercise resulting in lower energy expenditure. Differences in personality that exist between the VLBW and term-born groups do not seem to explain this association.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chronic Disease and Diabetes Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. nina.kaseva@fimnet.fi
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaseva
authors.forename: Karoliina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wehkalampi
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strang-Karlsson
authors.forename: Minna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salonen
authors.forename: Anu-Katriina
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Pesonen
authors.forename: Katri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Räikkönen
authors.forename: Tuija
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tammelin
authors.forename: Petteri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hovi
authors.forename: Jari
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lahti
authors.forename: Kati
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heinonen
authors.forename: Anna-Liisa
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Järvenpää
authors.forename: Sture
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Johan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.forename: Eero
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kajantie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000209:etiology; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009043:Motor Activity; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult