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. 2012 May;42(5):445-51.
doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2012.01.007.

Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and adiposity in English children

Laura Basterfield  1 , Mark S Pearce, Ashley J Adamson, Jessica K Frary, Kathryn N Parkinson, Charlotte M Wright, John J Reilly; Gateshead Millennium Study Core Team
Collaborators, Affiliations

Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and adiposity in English children

Laura Basterfield et al. Am J Prev Med. 2012 May.

Abstract

Background: The importance of variation in total volume of physical activity or moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) to development of body fatness in childhood is unclear, and it is unclear if physical activity has a greater influence on adiposity in boys than girls.

Purpose: To assess relationships between 2-year changes in objectively measured physical activity, sedentary behavior, and adiposity in English children.

Methods: Prospective cohort study, set in Northeast England, of a socioeconomically representative sample of 403 children. Measures were change in accelerometer-determined physical activity and sedentary behavior from age 7 to 9 years (data collected 2006/2007 and 2008/2009; analyzed in 2010) and concurrent change in adiposity (fat mass index derived from bioelectric impedance) and change in BMI Z-score.

Results: Decline in MVPA was associated with a greater increase in fat mass index in boys but not girls. Declining MVPA was associated with increased BMI Z-score in boys but not girls. Increased sedentary behavior was not associated with increased BMI Z-score in either gender.

Conclusions: Avoiding mid-late childhood reductions in MVPA may reduce excessive fat gain, although such strategies may have greater impact on boys than girls.

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