Abstract
SummaryBackgroundMetabolic syndrome is increasingly prevalent in the pediatric population. To prevent an early onset, knowledge about its association with modifiable lifestyle factors is needed.ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and examine its cross‐sectional associations with physical activity and sedentary time.MethodsParticipants were 6009 children and adolescents from 8 studies of the International Children's Accelerometry Database. Physical activity and sedentary time were measured by accelerometer. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on International Diabetes Federation criteria. Logistic regression models adjusted for sex, age and monitor wear time were used to examine the associations between physical activity, sedentary time and the metabolic syndrome in each study and effect estimates were combined using random‐effects meta‐analysis.ResultsThe overall prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 2.9%. In crude models, a 10 min increase in moderate‐to‐vigorous intensity physical activity and vigorous‐intensity physical activity were inversely associated with the metabolic syndrome [OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.82‐0.94, OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.70‐0.92]. One hour increase in sedentary time was positively associated with the metabolic syndrome [OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.13‐1.45]. After adjustment for sedentary time, the association between moderate‐to‐vigorous‐intensity physical activity and the metabolic syndrome remained significant [OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84‐0.99]. Sedentary time was not associated with the metabolic syndrome after adjustment for moderate‐to‐vigorous intensity physical activity [OR 1.14 95% CI 0.96‐1.36].ConclusionsPhysical activity of at least moderate intensity but not sedentary time is independently associated with the metabolic syndrome.
Highlights
metabolic syndrome (MetS) (3.8% vs. 2.1% p < 0.001), elevated blood pressure (12.1% vs. 5.6%, p < 0.001), fasting plasma glucose (11.9% vs. 6.1%, p < 0.001) and low HDL‐cholesterol (13.3% vs. 7.4%, p < 0.001) were more prevalent in boys, central obesity was more prevalent in girls (25.2% vs. 42.6%, p < 0.001) and elevated triglycerides (3.5% vs. 4.1%, p = 0.27) were prevalent in boys and girls (Table S2)
The highest prevalence of MetS was seen in the UK (ALSPAC: 6.8%) and no cases were identified in Switzerland (KISS)
Adolescents from the UK and the U.S showed the highest prevalence of MetS (ALSPAC: 6.8%, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 03/04: 5.2% and NHANES 05/06: 4.0%) and high rates of central obesity in this subgroup (ALSPAC: 50.1%, NHANES 03/04: 47.6% and NHANES 05/06: 46.3%)
Summary
To estimate the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and examine its cross‐sectional associations with physical activity and sedentary time. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of MetS and examine the associations between objectively measured physical activity, sedentary time and MetS in a large and diverse multicentre sample of 6009 children and adolescents using a meta‐ analytical approach
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