Physical activity, BMI and metabolic risk in Portuguese adolescents

Fernanda Karina Dos Santos,Daniel Monteiro De Vilhena Santos,José António Ribeiro Maia,Raquel Nichele Chaves,Thayse Natacha Queiroz Ferreira Gomes,Michele Caroline De Souza,Sara Isabel Sampaio Pereira,Alessandra Da Silva Borges

doi:10.5007/1980-0037.2016v18n1p103

Abstract

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2016v18n1p103 It has been reported, in the last decades, a significant decrease in physical activity (PA) levels, with a consequent increase in obesity and metabolic risk factors among youth. The aims of this study were to describe PA levels, the prevalence of overweight/obesity and metabolic risk factors, and to examine the association between PA and body mass index (BMI) with metabolic risk among Portuguese youth. The sample comprises 212 Portuguese adolescents (12-16 years old). Height and weight were measured. PA was estimated with the Bouchard questionnaire (3 days recall), as well as with the use of a pedometer (used for 5 consecutive days). Metabolic risk factors comprised fasting glucose, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and waist circumference. Subjects were classified as normal weight, overweight or obese according to BMI; the maturational status was indirectly estimated with the maturity offset procedure. A continuous metabolic risk score was computed (zMR) and PA values were divided into tertiles. Qui-square test, t-test and ANOVA were used in statistical analyses. SPSS 18.0 and WinPepi softwares were used and p<0.05. A moderate to high prevalence of overweight/obesity and HDL-cholesterol was found, as well as a high prevalence of high blood pressure and low to moderate PA levels among Portuguese youth. The relationship between BMI and zMR showed that obese adolescents have higher zMR when compared to normal weight or overweight adolescents. This finding suggests that increased levels of PA and reduction in the prevalence of overweight/obesity may have a positive role against the development of metabolic risk factors.

Highlights

The worldwide increase in the prevalence of overweight/obesity in paediatric population, in association with the increase in the incidence of cardiometabolic disease (CMD), suggests that obesity has probably been the most common chronic disease in childhood[1,2]
The present study investigated the relationships between physical activity (PA), body mass index (BMI) and metabolic risk (MR) indicators in Portuguese youth
Girls have low-to-moderate PA levels, while boys have moderate levels; a significant part of the awake time is spent in sedentary activities (SedAct)

Summary

Introduction

The worldwide increase in the prevalence of overweight/obesity in paediatric population, in association with the increase in the incidence of cardiometabolic disease (CMD), suggests that obesity has probably been the most common chronic disease in childhood[1,2]. An increase in sedentariness among youth has been observed, with implications in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and in the general health of the world population[3]. Since that obese youth are more likely to become obese adults[2] and that this pandemic leads to increasing risk to the development of CMD, these data are of great concern, especially with regards to economic costs reaching about €169 billion/year in Europe Union[5]. About 80.3% of adolescents worldwide do not reach the daily recommended physical activity (PA) guidelines (60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA); further, sex differences are observed, where boys tend to be more active[6]

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