Estimated daily energy expenditure and blood lipids in adolescents: the Québec Family Study

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the physical and psychological health of female college students in Japan

The spread of COVID‐19 has dramatically changed our lives. This study aimed to examine the lifestyles of female college students, focusing on physical activity, sleep status, and anxiety status during the pandemic (a state of emergency) in Japan. 184 female college students completed two questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, and daily activity log and diet record: 115 and 69 participants before and during the pandemic, respectively. Findings showed a significant decrease in physical activity: physical activity levels fell from “normal” to “low” and the daily step counts decreased by half, from 8671 to 4640. In addition, the results from the questionnaires revealed that half of the participants were at risk of having sleep disturbances, and their cycles became more nocturnal, which may have caused higher anxiety states and lower sleep quality during the pandemic. In addition, anxiety states worsened, with 100% of the participants experiencing high anxiety during the pandemic. Monitoring lifestyle disturbances during the pandemic is needed for the development of interventions to improve health among young women.

After-school physical activity and eating behaviors of middle school students in relation to adult supervision

OBJECTIVE

Examine after-school activity patterns, eating behaviors, and social environment of overweight and normal weight middle school students.

DESIGN

Eating and physical activity behaviors of 141 students, ages 10-14, were monitored. Students completed a diary documenting type of activity, location, adult supervision, accompanying participants, and eating habits from 3:00 pm-12:00 am.

SETTING

Three middle schools, grades 6-8.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Body mass index, estimated energy expenditure, eating behavior, active time, sedentary time, supervised time.

ANALYSIS

t tests, ANOVA, chi-square, correlation coefficients. Significance set at P < .05.

RESULTS

Children spent 76% of time sedentary, and 85% of sedentary time was under adult supervision (r = 0.76). Active time related to time with friends (r = 0.64) and family (r = 0.46). Children spent 40% of eating time consuming unhealthful food, and adults supervised 86% of children's eating. Overweight and normal weight children were similarly active (335 ± 156 vs 373 ± 194 counts per minute). Overweight girls spent more eating time (77%) eating healthfully than overweight boys (57%).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Children should be given access to healthful food and encouraged to eat healthfully when alone and with friends. Adults should be more physically engaged with children. Children should be encouraged to eat under adult supervision and with their families.

Physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and metabolic syndrome in adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Background

In adults, there is a substantial body of evidence that physical inactivity or low cardiorespiratory fitness levels are strongly associated with the development of metabolic syndrome. Although this association has been studied extensively in adults, little is known regarding this association in adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness levels with metabolic syndrome in Brazilian adolescents.

Methods

A random sample of 223 girls (mean age, 14.4 ± 1.6 years) and 233 boys (mean age, 14.6 ± 1.6 years) was selected for the study. The level of physical activity was determined by the Bouchard three-day physical activity record. Cardiorespiratory fitness was estimated by the Leger 20-meter shuttle run test. The metabolic syndrome components assessed included waist circumference, blood pressure, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting plasma glucose levels. Independent Student t-tests were used to assess gender differences. The associations between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with the presence of metabolic syndrome were calculated using logistic regression models adjusted for age and gender.

Results

A high prevalence of metabolic syndrome was observed in inactive adolescents (males, 11.4%; females, 7.2%) and adolescents with low cardiorespiratory fitness levels (males, 13.9%; females, 8.6%). A significant relationship existed between metabolic syndrome and low cardiorespiratory fitness (OR, 3.0 [1.13-7.94]).

Conclusion

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is high among adolescents who are inactive and those with low cardiorespiratory fitness. Prevention strategies for metabolic syndrome should concentrate on enhancing fitness levels early in life.

Health-related fitness in children and adolescents

PURPOSE

The American Physical Therapy Association Section on Pediatrics developed a task force to summarize fitness guidelines for children and adolescents. The purposes of this article were to review components, measurement methods, and consequences of physical fitness, and to summarize evidence-based activity recommendations for youth.

SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS

Health-related fitness is comprised of body composition, flexibility, cardiorespiratory endurance, and muscular strength and endurance. Each of these components is reviewed in terms of definition, assessment, normative values, and recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS

The task force supports the guidelines of the US Department of Health and Human Services, which state that to promote overall health and wellness, youth should participate in 60 minutes or more of physical activity every day.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE

Physical therapists should apply research relevant to health-related fitness when treating youth. Promoting fitness, health, and wellness in our communities is a responsibility all therapists should assume.

Dispêndio energético diário e níveis de lipídeos-lipoproteínas plasmáticos em adolescentes

O objetivo do estudo foi analisar o impacto da prática habitual de atividade física, mediante estimativas do dispêndio energético diário (DEdiário), no perfil lipídico-lipoprotéico plasmático em amostra representativa de adolescentes. A amostra foi constituída por 452 sujeitos (246 moças e 206 rapazes) com idade entre 15 e 18 anos. As concentrações de lipídeos-lipoproteínas plasmáticas foram estabelecidas por procedimentos laboratoriais. As informações acerca da prática habitual de atividade física foram obtidas por intermédio de instrumento retrospectivo de auto-recordação. Estabeleceram-se estimativas quanto ao DE Diário com base no custo calórico associado ao tipo e à duração das atividades registradas pelos adolescentes. A amostra foi estratificada em três grupos de prática habitual de atividade física: os menos ativos, < 25º percentil do DE Diário; os moderadamente ativos, 25-75º percentil do DEdiário; e os mais ativos, > 75º percentil do DEdiário, e também pontos de corte para um perfil lipídico-lipoprotéico de risco aterogênico. Os resultados da análise de co-variância, controlando a participação do índice de massa corporal, mostraram que as concentrações de HDL-C foram significativamente diferentes de acordo com os grupos crescentes de DEdiário em moças (p = 0,009) e em rapazes (p = 0,010), porém, o comportamento de variação dos valores observados foi diferente nos dois sexos. A análise de regressão logística indicou que o risco relativo para menores valores de HDL-C foi duas vezes maior entre os adolescentes menos ativos em comparação com os mais ativos. Em ambos os sexos, as concentrações de colesterol total, LDL-C e triglicerídeos não apresentaram diferenças significativas entre os grupos de DEdiário. Em conclusão, a prática habitual de atividade física mais intensa e o maior DEdiário estão associados com mais elevadas concentrações de HDL-C em adolescentes de ambos os sexos, independentemente das variações do peso corporal. As associações entre DEdiário e os outros componentes plasmáticos de lipídeos-lipoproteínas tratados no presente estudo foram fracas e inconsistentes.

Concurrent validation of the Bouchard Diary with an accelerometry-based monitor

PURPOSE

This study was conducted to examine the relationships between the Bouchard activity diary and a temporally matched objective measure: the Tritrac-R3D (Professional Products, Reining International, Madison, WI) accelerometer. A secondary purpose was to examine the intraindividual variability in correlation coefficients between the two temporally matched measures.

METHODS

A total of 70 participants (ages 18-23 yr) wore a Tritrac monitor and completed the Bouchard activity diary during a 24-h period. Estimates of activity energy expenditure (AEE) and total energy expenditure (TEE) were compared using correlations, t-tests, and Bland-Altman graphical procedures.

RESULTS

A strong linear relationship was found between the Tritrac and the Bouchard measure for both AEE (r = 0.72) and TEE (r = 0.86). Large and significant differences were seen in the estimates of AEE (576 +/- 381 kcal) and TEE (645 +/- 494) from the two instruments. The Bouchard diary yielded higher estimates of TEE than the Tritrac for nearly all participants (97%) and the Bland-Altman plots revealed a systematic bias in the relationships (smaller bias for lower energy expenditure levels and higher bias for higher energy expenditure estimates). Intraindividual correlations between estimated TEE from the Tritrac and Bouchard diary ranged from 0.34 to 0.93 (mean r = 0.74).

CONCLUSION

The overall response indicates that individuals are able to provide reasonable self-reported estimates of their activity levels across a day.

Perfil lipídico em crianças obesas: efeitos de dieta hipocalórica e atividade física aeróbica

Dieta hipocalórica e atividade física aeróbia promovem perda de peso e melhora do perfil lipídico de adultos obesos, entretanto pouco se conhece em crianças obesas, sendo este o objetivo do trabalho. Estudamos cinqüenta crianças obesas e dividimos em dois grupos pareados: Grupo D (dieta com 55% de carboidrato, 30% de gordura e 15% de proteína - 1.500 e 1.800 kcal) e Grupo DE (mesma dieta + atividade física aeróbia 1 hora por dia, três vezes por semana). Após cinco meses, avaliamos: índice de massa corpórea (IMC), triglicerídeos, colesterol total (CT) e frações. Nenhuma modificação foi observada nos triglicerídeos, CT e lipoproteína de baixa-densidade colesterol (LDL-C) em ambos os grupos. Houve, porém, aumento da lipoproteína de alta-densidade colesterol (HDL-C) apenas no grupo DE (+10,3%, p< 0,01). Selecionando pacientes com CT > 170 mg/dL, LDL-C > 110 mg/dL e HDL-C < 35 mg/dL, observou-se redução semelhante do CT nos dois grupos (-6,0% x -6,0%; p= ns), assim como da LDL-C de ambos (-14,2% x -13,5%; p= ns), e um acréscimo da HDL-C apenas no grupo DE (+10,0%; p< 0,05). Conclusões: 1) Dieta hipocalórica (DH) e atividade física aeróbia promovem aumento da HDL-C, independente do valor basal, em crianças obesas quando comparado à DH isoladamente; 2) DH isoladamente ou associada a exercício aeróbio reduz CT e LDL-C, quando estes estão em níveis acima do valor normal, em crianças obesas.

Aerobic fitness, body mass index, and CVD risk factors among adolescents: the Québec family study

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine the association of body mass index (BMI) and aerobic fitness on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in adolescents.

METHODS

The sample included 416 boys and 345 girls 9-18 y of age from the Québec Family Study. Participants were cross-tabulated into four groups using a median split of age-adjusted physical working capacity (PWC) and body mass index (BMI). Group differences in age-adjusted CVD risk factors (blood pressures, fasting total cholesterol (CHOL), LDL -C, HDL-C, HDL/CHOL, triglycerides, glucose, and a composite risk factor score) were examined by two-way ANOVA.

RESULTS

Several CVD risk factors showed significant main effects for PWC, BMI and/or the PWC by BMI interaction. In general, low fit males and females had higher blood lipids and glucose compared to their high fit counterparts within BMI categories although none of the differences reached statistical significance. The high fit/low BMI group showed the best CVD risk factor profile while the low fit/high BMI showed a poorer profile as evidenced by several significant differences between these two groups. Other significant differences occurred for various risk factors between groups.

CONCLUSION

Both aerobic fitness and BMI show an independent association with CVD risk factors in adolescents.