title: Tracking of BMI, fatness and cardiorespiratory fitness from adolescence to middle adulthood: the Zagreb Growth and Development Longitudinal Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Effective intervention strategies aiming to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and to decrease body fatness are needed. However, long-term stability of these traits is not well understood.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess long-term tracking of cardiorespiratory fitness and body fatness from late adolescence to middle adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample consisted of 50 participants (31 boys) from the Zagreb Growth and Development Longitudinal Study who were followed up in adulthood (median age = 43). Fatness was evaluated through BMI and skin-folds, while cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using a cardiopulmonary exercise test. Inter-age partial correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate tracking.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Body mass index and skin-folds showed moderate tracking from age 15 years to middle adulthood (partial r = 0.55, p < 0.001 and partial r = 0.52, p < 0.001, respectively), while tracking of subcutaneous fat distribution was somewhat lower (partial r = 0.38, p < 0.01). At the same time, the observed tracking of peak oxygen uptake was low-to-moderate (partial r = 0.30, p = 0.03), while ventilatory aerobic and anaerobic thresholds did not show significant tracking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study indicate that preventive efforts aiming to increase cardiorespiratory fitness should include all adolescents, irrespective of their cardiorespiratory fitness status. Conversely, strategies aiming at obesity prevention should focus on high-risk groups of adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport and Exercise Medicine, The Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb , Croatia and.
authors.forename: Maroje
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sorić
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jembrek Gostović
authors.forename: Mladen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gostović
authors.forename: Marija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hočevar
authors.forename: Marjeta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mišigoj-Duraković
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D017523:Croatia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness