scholarly journals Impact of Vigorous-Intensity Physical Activity on Body Composition Parameters, Lipid Profile Markers, and Irisin Levels in Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catia Morelli ◽  
Ennio Avolio ◽  
Angelo Galluccio ◽  
Giovanna Caparello ◽  
Emanuele Manes ◽  
...  

In adolescence, health status is influenced by several factors, including dietary pattern and physical activity (PA) which are crucial elements of lifestyle in terms of prevention and treatment of metabolic and chronic diseases. The current study aimed to explore the impact of the different intensity levels of PA along with the adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MD), on body composition indices and metabolic parameters in a cohort of adolescents, thereby investigating potential predictors of health behavior in youth. This cross-sectional study was carried out among 92 participants (44 girls and 48 boys, aged 14 to 17 years), which were divided into the following three groups according to intensity levels of PA: Group A (physical inactivity), Group B (moderate PA), and Group C (vigorous-intensity PA). The Questionnaire of Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (KIDMED test) was used to assess both diet composition and adherence to a MD. All subjects underwent anthropometric measurements, bio-impedentiometric analysis for body composition parameters, and biochemical and hormonal measurements. The majority of adolescents (60.87%) had a medium adherence to the MD, and even a better distribution of food rates was found in adolescents performing vigorous-intensity PA. A comparison of anthropometric measurements and body composition parameters among groups showed that body mass index and fat mass (FM) were significantly lower while body cell mass (BCM), free fat mass (FFM), phase angle (PhA), and total body water (TBW) were higher in Group C adolescents as compared with those of Group A. In Group C, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was reduced and insulin levels were inversely associated with FFM (r = −0.454 and p = 0.004) and directly correlated with FM (r = 0.331 and p = 0.003). In the same Group C, we observed elevated serum irisin levels and lower lipid profile markers as compared with Group A. Interestingly, irisin negatively correlated with both total cholesterol (r = −0.428 and p = 0.04) and LDL (r = −0.468 and p = 0.02) in Group C. Finally, a receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis revealed irisin, LDL, HDL, and body composition variables (FFM, BMC, PhA, and TBW) as the most predictive measures for vigorous-intensity PA. Our results highlight the importance of developing healthy lifestyle programs that include improving the intensity of PA among a young population as a superior strategy for ensuring a better quality of life.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elpiniki Laiou ◽  
Iro Rapti ◽  
Georgios Markozannes ◽  
Luisella Cianferotti ◽  
Lena Fleig ◽  
...  

Abstract There is a growing recognition that social support can potentially exert consistent or opposing effects in influencing health behaviours. The present paper presents a cross-sectional study, including 2,064 adults from Italy, Spain and Greece, who were participants in a multi-centre randomised controlled trial (C4H study), aiming to examine whether social support is correlated with adherence to a healthy Mediterranean diet and physical activity. Social support data were available for 1,572 participants. The majority of the sample reported emotional support availability (84·5 %), financial support availability (72·6 %) and having one or more close friends (78·2 %). Mediterranean diet adherence was significantly associated with emotional support (P = 0·009) and social network support (P = 0·021). No statistically significant associations were found between participant physical activity and the social support aspects studied. In conclusion, emotional and social network support may be associated with increased adherence to the Mediterranean diet. However, further research is needed to evaluate the role of social support in adherence to healthy Mediterranean diet.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e042669
Author(s):  
Justyna Wyszyńska ◽  
Piotr Matłosz ◽  
Muhammad Asif ◽  
Agnieszka Szybisty ◽  
Paweł Lenik ◽  
...  

ObjectiveAssociations between self-reported sleep duration and obesity indices in children are well recognised; however, there are no studies on associations between objectively measured other sleep parameters and physical activity with body composition in preschoolers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the associations between sleep parameters and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with body composition indices in preschoolers using objective measures.DesignA cross-sectional study.ParticipantsThe study group consisted of 676 children aged 5–6 years, who were enrolled in kindergartens in the 2017/2018 school year.Outcome measuresSleep parameters and MVPA were measured using accelerometers for 7 days. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to estimate body composition.ResultsSleep duration and sleep efficiency were inversely associated with body fat percentage (BFP) (β=−0.013 and β from –0.311 to −0.359, respectively) and body mass index (BMI) (β from −0.005 to −0.006 and from −0.105 to –0.121, respectively), and directly associated with fat-free mass (FFM) (β from 0.010 to 0.011 and from 0.245 to 0.271, respectively) and muscle mass (β from 0.012 to 0.012 and from 0.277 to 0.307, respectively) in unadjusted and adjusted models. BFP was inversely associated with MVPA and positively associated with number of awakenings and sleep periods. Number of sleep periods was inversely associated with FFM, and positively with BMI and muscle mass. Correlation matrix indicated significant correlation between BFP, FFM and muscle mass with sleep duration, sleep efficiency, number of sleep periods and MVPA.ConclusionsPeriodic assessment of sleep parameters and MVPA in relation to body composition in preschool children may be considered, especially in those who are at risk for obesity.


Author(s):  
Andrea Maugeri ◽  
Martina Barchitta ◽  
Valerio Fiore ◽  
Giuliana Rosta ◽  
Giuliana Favara ◽  
...  

The Mediterranean diet (MD)—the dietary pattern usually consumed by Mediterranean populations—can help promote a favorable health status and better quality of life. Uncovering the main factors associated with the adherence to MD may be useful in understanding and counteracting the global shift toward a Western diet, which has been documented also in the Mediterranean region. Here, we evaluated the adherence to MD and its major social and behavioral determinants in women from Catania, Southern Italy. This cross-sectional study included 841 women, aged 25–64 years, with no history of severe diseases. Adherence to MD was assessed by the Food Frequency Questionnaire and Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). Associations between variables were tested by multivariable logistic regression analysis and expressed as an odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Among social factors, medium and high educational levels were associated with an ideal intake of alcohol (OR = 4.059; 95%CI = 1.311–12.570; p = 0.015; OR = 4.258 95%CI = 1.068–16.976; p = 0.040; respectively), living in a couple with ideal intake of cereals (OR = 2.801 95%CI = 1.188–6.602; p = 0.018), and having children with an ideal intake of fruits (OR = 3.149; 95%CI = 1.245–7.762; p = 0.015). With respect to behaviors, current smoking was negatively associated with an ideal intake of meat (OR = 0.449; 95%CI = 0.0220–0.917; p = 0.028), while more engagement in physical activity was associated with an ideal intake of vegetables (OR = 6.148; 95%CI = 1.506–25.104; p = 0.011) and legumes (OR = 5.832; 95%CI = 1.414–24.063; p = 0.015). In line with these findings, moderately or highly physically active women were more likely to show medium or high adherence to MD than those who performed less physical activity (OR = 6.024; 95%CI = 1.192–30.440; p = 0.040; OR = 9.965 95%CI = 1.683–58.993; p = 0.011; respectively). Our results confirm an urgent need for public health strategies, which should take into account determinants of diet quality. Particularly, our study indicates that more engagement in physical activity is a major positive determinant of the adherence to MD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e002134
Author(s):  
Jana L Slaght ◽  
Brandy Alexandra Wicklow ◽  
Allison B Dart ◽  
Elizabeth A C Sellers ◽  
Melissa Gabbs ◽  
...  

IntroductionYouth living with type 2 diabetes display increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is unclear if regular physical activity (PA) modifies this risk.Research design and methodsWe compared CVD risk factors in a cross-sectional study of 164 youth with type 2 diabetes stratified according to weekly vigorous-intensity PA. Outcomes were hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), ambulatory blood pressure (BP; ambulatory 24-hour readings), plasma lipoproteins, and albuminuria. The main exposure, vigorous-intensity PA, was quantified with the Adolescent Physical Activity Recall Questionnaire.ResultsYouth were 15±3 years, and 78% lived rurally and 68% were female, with a mean body mass index (BMI) Z-score of 2.4±1.1 and a mean HbA1c of 9.6% ±2.6%. Youth who participated in regular vigorous-intensity PA (40%; n=67) achieved nearly twice the dose of PA than peers who did not (62 vs 34 metabolic equivalent score-hour/week, p=0.001). After adjusting for duration of diabetes, BMI Z-score, sex, and smoking, youth who engaged in vigorous-intensity PA displayed lower HbA1c (9.1% vs 9.9%, p=0.052), diastolic BP (70 mm Hg vs 73 mm Hg, p=0.002), diastolic load (20% vs 26%, p=0.023), and mean arterial pressure (87.3 mm Hg vs 90.3 mm Hg, p<0.01), compared with youth who did not. Compared with youth who did not participate in regular vigorous-intensity PA, those who did also displayed lower odds of albuminuria after adjusting for duration of diabetes, sex, smoking, rural residence, and BMI Z-score (adjusted OR: 0.40, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.84).ConclusionsAmong youth with type 2 diabetes, participation in vigorous-intensity PA is associated with lower CVD risk.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ourania Kolokotroni ◽  
Maria Mosquera ◽  
Annalisa Quattrocchi ◽  
Alexandros Heraclides ◽  
Christiana Demetriou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic and widespread control measures disrupted efforts to address lifestyle risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCD). This study aimed to explore the effects of COVID-19 lockdown on all lifestyle medicine pillars.Methods This was a cross-sectional study on a convenient sample of adults residing in Cyprus during the Spring 2020 lockdown. Participants completed an anonymous online questionnaire incorporating six validated tools regarding the following lifestyle behaviours before and during lockdown: adherence to the Mediterranean diet, physical activity, stress and social support levels, sleep pattern and use of risky substances such as smoking and alcohol. Median total scores for each lifestyle pillar before and during lockdown were compared using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test and stratified analyses for sociodemographic characteristics were performed.Results Of 745 participants, 74% were female and median age was 39 years. Overall participants reported significantly higher perceived stress score (22 v 25, p<0.01), lower social support score (71 v 68, p<0.001), and worse sleep quality score (4 v 5, p<0.01) during lockdown. Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence was moderate and increased significantly only in those practicing religious fasting (score of 6 v 7, p<0.01). Total minutes spent sitting increased (120 v 180, p<0.01) although overall physical activity score did not significantly change. Smoking intensity increased during lockdown whilst frequency of alcohol consumption decreased (ptrend=0.03 and <0.01, respectively). ConclusionLifestyle was adversely affected by the COVID-19 lockdown in Cyprus. Evidence from this study supports development of holistic lifestyle interventions during and following the pandemic to reduce short and long-term NCD risks by building on lifestyle behaviour strengths and addressing longstanding and emerging gaps and needs.


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