Physical activity, physical fitness, and coronary heart disease risk factors in youth: the Québec Family Study

Abstract

Objective: The relationships between physical activity, fitness, and CHD risk factors were investigated in 342 males and 268 females 9-18 years of age.

Methods: Daily energy expenditure, moderate to vigorous physical activity, inactivity, and television viewing time were estimated. Indicators of physical fitness included submaximal work capacity, quadriceps muscle strength, sit-ups, and the sum of six skinfolds. Risk factors included mean arterial blood pressure and fasting blood levels of triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and glucose.

Results: Canonical correlations between activity and risk factor profiles range from 0.22 to 0.45, while those between fitness and risk factor profiles range from 0.34 to 0.55, indicating that 5 to 20% and 11 to 30% of the variance in the risk profile is explained by activity and fitness, respectively.

Conclusion: The results suggest that both physical fitness and level of habitual physical activity are strongly associated with CHD risk factors in this sample of youth.