Lifestyle and physical fitness in adolescents with type 1 diabetes and obesity

Patrizia Calella; Daniela Vitucci; Angela Zanfardino; Francesca Cozzolino; Alessia Terracciano; Francesco Zanfardino; Serena Rollato; Alessia Piscopo; Francesca Gallè; Annamaria Mancini; Valeria Di Onofrio; Dario Iafusco; Giuliana Valerio; Pasqualina Buono; Giorgio Liguori

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13109

Lifestyle and physical fitness in adolescents with type 1 diabetes and obesity

Heliyon. 2023 Jan 21;9(1):e13109. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13109. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Authors

Patrizia Calella¹, Daniela Vitucci^{1

2}, Angela Zanfardino³, Francesca Cozzolino¹, Alessia Terracciano¹, Francesco Zanfardino³, Serena Rollato³, Alessia Piscopo³, Francesca Gallè¹, Annamaria Mancini^{1

2}, Valeria Di Onofrio⁴, Dario Iafusco³, Giuliana Valerio¹, Pasqualina Buono^{1

2}, Giorgio Liguori¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy.
² CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate "Franco Salvatore", Naples, Italy.
³ Regional Center of Pediatric Diabetology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
⁴ Department of Sciences and Technologies, University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy.

Abstract

Background: The association between Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) and obesity (Ob) is no longer unexpected due to unhealthy lifestyle mostly in adolescents. We compared clinical-biochemical characteristics, adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD), lifestyle habits and physical fitness across different weight categories of T1DM adolescents from Campania Region. As second aim, we assessed the relationship among lifestyle and physical fitness in these patients.

Methods: 74 adolescents (35M; 39F; 13-18 y), with T1DM diagnosed at least 6 mo before the study, were enrolled at the Regional Center for Pediatric Diabetology of Vanvitelli University of Naples. Height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), BMI z-score, and Clinical Biochemical health-related parameters were determined. MD adherence, physical activity (PA) amount and sedentary habits were assessed by questionnaires. Handgrip strength, 2-Min Step test (2-MST) cardiorespiratory endurance and Timed up and go test (TUG) for agility and balance were used for physical fitness evaluation.

Results: Our sample included 22 normal weight (NW), 37 overweight (OW) and 15 with Obese (Ob) adolescents. Across the three groups, adolescents showed similar Clinical-Biochemical parameters, MD adherence, PA amount, mostly walking (9.3 h/w), daily video exposure (8.5 h/d) and similar handgrip or 2-MST performance. Better performance was observed in NW compared to OW or Ob for TUG (7 vs 8 vs 9 s; p < 0.05). A positive correlation was found between TUG test and BMI, while no correlation was found between HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin) and BMI z score or 2-MST.

Conclusions: T1DM adolescents did not meet the recommendations for active lifestyle, despite a medium/good adherence to MD, in particular in NW and OW youths. Sedentary habits correlated with a poor HbA1c. Further, reduced agility and balance were observed in adolescents with obesity compared to NW participants.Future research should be aimed to examine wider samples and to design health promotion interventions for T1DM adolescents.

Keywords: Adolescents; Lifestyle; Physical fitness; Type 1 diabetes mellitus.