title: High cardiorespiratory fitness is inversely associated with incidence of overweight in adolescence: a longitudinal study.
abstract: To assess the association of baseline cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) with incidence of overweight over a 4.6-year period in adolescence. In a cohort of 4878 adolescents, we assessed body mass index in years 2001-2003 and 2007. CRF was assessed at baseline as maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max , mL/kg/min) using the 20-m shuttle run test and was examined against incidence of overweight at follow-up. Estimated VO2max at baseline was higher in males than in females, P < 0.001, and was lower in overweight and obese than in non-overweight subjects. The incidence of overweight at follow-up among non-overweight participants at baseline was 15.5% [95% confidence interval (CI) 13.7% to 17.3%] in males and 5.6% (95% CI 4.9% to 7.0%) in females, P < 0.001. Adjusted odds ratio for incidence of overweight in participants in the fourth quartile of VO2max was 0.40 (95%CI 0.26 to 0.61) in males and 0.57 (95% CI 0.33 to 0.99) in females in comparison with participants in the first quartiles of VO2max . Incidence of overweight was three times more frequent in males than in females. Among non-overweight at baseline, high fitness levels were inversely associated with incidence of overweight at follow-up, suggesting that interventions aiming to increase CRF in early childhood might help reverse increasing trends in obesity.
authors.affiliation: Research and Education Institute of Child Health, Strovolos, Cyprus.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Savva
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Tornaritis
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kolokotroni
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chadjigeorgiou
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kourides
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Karpathios
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Yiallouros
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003535:Cyprus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010809:Physical Fitness; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: adolescence; cardiorespiratory fitness; obesity; overweight