Fatness and Fitness With Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adolescents

Denise L Demmer; Lawrence J Beilin; Beth Hands; Sally Burrows; Kay L Cox; Wendy H Oddy; Trevor A Mori

doi:10.1210/jc.2017-00851

Fatness and Fitness With Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adolescents

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2017 Dec 1;102(12):4467-4476. doi: 10.1210/jc.2017-00851.

Authors

Denise L Demmer¹, Lawrence J Beilin¹, Beth Hands², Sally Burrows¹, Kay L Cox¹, Wendy H Oddy³, Trevor A Mori¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine and Pharmacology, Royal Perth Hospital Unit, University of Western Australia, Australia.
² Institute for Health Research, University of Notre Dame Australia, Australia.
³ The Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Australia.

Abstract

Context: The relative importance of fitness and fatness with cardiometabolic risk factors is uncertain during the crucial developmental stage of late adolescence.

Objective: We aimed to compare the concurrent influences of cardiorespiratory fitness and fatness in relationship to cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescents from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort Study.

Design, setting, and participants: Cross-sectional analysis was performed on 1128 participants with complete blood pressure (BP) data and 963 participants with complete blood biochemistry at 17 years of age. Fatness (waist circumference) and cardiorespiratory fitness (physical work capacity 170) were assessed as continuous measures to avoid the use of arbitrary cut points. Analyses used linear regression models adjusted for sex and potential lifestyle confounders.

Main outcome measure: Cardiometabolic risk factors.

Results: Fatness was positively associated with systolic BP (coefficient, 0.19; P < 0.001; β coefficient, 0.20), triglycerides (log coefficient, 0.009; P < 0.001; β coefficient, 0.24), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (coefficient, 0.005; P = 0.007; β coefficient, 0.10), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (log coefficient, 0.05; P < 0.001; β coefficient, 0.35). There were no significant effects of fitness on any of these measures. A positive association between homeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistance and fatness (log coefficient, 0.02; P < 0.001; β coefficient, 0.33) was attenuated by fitness (log coefficient, -0.0.18; P < 0.001; β coefficient, -0.18). Fatness was inversely associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in both sexes (coefficient, -0.006; P < 0.001; β coefficient, -0.23), whereas fitness was positively associated with HDL-C only in females (coefficient, 0.08; P = 0.03; β coefficient, 0.15).

Conclusions: The adverse effects of central adiposity seen across a broad range of cardiometabolic risk factors were only partially ameliorated by fitness in this adolescent population.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Australia / epidemiology
Blood Pressure
Body Weight
Cardiovascular Diseases / epidemiology*
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Lipids / blood
Male
Metabolic Diseases / epidemiology*
Overweight / epidemiology*
Physical Fitness*
Pregnancy
Risk Factors
Waist Circumference
Work Capacity Evaluation

Substances

Lipids