Abstract
The aim of our longitudinal study was to investigate the relationships between physical activity and bone mass in boys with different body mass status during the years surrounding pubertal growth spurt. Two hundred and six boys entering puberty took part in this study. The subjects were divided into underweight (), normal weight (), overweight () and obese () groups at baseline according to age related categories. Whole-body DXA scans were performed at baseline, after 12 and 24 months to assess body composition (lean body mass, fat mass), and total body (TB), lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) bone mineral density (BMD) parameters. Physical activity was measured by 7- day accelerometry. For longitudinal analysis, multilevel fixed effects regression models were constructed. Biological age, height and lean body mass had an effect for explanation of TB BMD, FN BMD and LS BMD. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), vigorous physical activity (VPA) and sedentary time (SED) had the significant effect only on FN BMD. Being an underweight boy at the baseline indicated greater chance (p<0.01) to have lower TB BMD in the future (2 years at follow up) development, compared to normal weight (estimates = −0.038), overweight (estimates = −0.061) and obese boys (estimates = −0.106).
Highlights
Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic skeletal disease in humans and is a major public health problem
Biological age in underweight boys was significantly lower compared to other subgroups (P, 0.05)
lumbar spine (LS) bone mineral density (BMD) was significantly lower in underweight and normal weigh boys when compared to obese boys (P,0.05), while femoral neck (FN) BMD was significantly lower in underweight boys compared to normal weight and obese boys
Summary
Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic skeletal disease in humans and is a major public health problem. Data from the longitudinal studies of bone mineral accrual reveal that the maximum bone growth velocity occurs during the 4-year period surrounding peak height velocity (PHV) with approximately 26% of adult total body bone mineral gained [2,3,4]. Peak height velocity (PHV) is an important somatic biological maturity parameter, widely used in growth studies and allows subjects to be compared by biological rather than by chronological age [5]. Underweight boys have been characterized by lower bone mineral density (BMD) compared to their normal weight peers and are at an increased risk of fractures [6]. Studies have examined differences in BMD between underweight boys attributed to diseases such as anorexia nervosa and their normal weight peers [7,8]. To our best of knowledge, there are no longitudinal studies performed that have investigated bone mineral accrual during puberty in healthy underweight boys
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