Is low cardiorespiratory fitness a feature of metabolic syndrome in children and adults?

Eero A Haapala; Tuomo Tompuri; Niina Lintu; Anna Viitasalo; Kai Savonen; Timo A Lakka; Jari A Laukkanen

doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2022.08.002

Is low cardiorespiratory fitness a feature of metabolic syndrome in children and adults?

J Sci Med Sport. 2022 Nov;25(11):923-929. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2022.08.002. Epub 2022 Aug 4.

Authors

Eero A Haapala¹, Tuomo Tompuri², Niina Lintu³, Anna Viitasalo³, Kai Savonen⁴, Timo A Lakka⁵, Jari A Laukkanen⁶

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland; Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Finland. Electronic address: eero.a.haapala@jyu.fi.
² Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Finland; Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Finland.
³ Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Finland.
⁴ Foundation for Research in Health Exercise and Nutrition, Kuopio Research Institute of Exercise Medicine, Finland.
⁵ Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Finland; Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Finland; Foundation for Research in Health Exercise and Nutrition, Kuopio Research Institute of Exercise Medicine, Finland.
⁶ Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland; Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Finland; Department of Medicine, Central Finland Health Care District, Finland. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/LaukkanenJari.

PMID: 35989176
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2022.08.002

Abstract

Objectives: Cardiorespiratory fitness has been inversely associated with risk of cardiometabolic diseases. However, there are no studies comparing the independent associations of cardiorespiratory fitness scaled by body size and composition using different approaches with cardiometabolic risk factors between children and adults. We therefore investigated these associations in children and adults using same measures for cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Methods: A total of 352 children (47.2 % girls) and 572 men were included in the study. Peak oxygen uptake (V̇O_2peak) was measured during a maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer and was scaled by total body mass, total fat free mass, and allometrically modelled body mass, fat free mass, and stature. Insulin, glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were assessed from fasting blood samples and systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were measured. Homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance and continuous metabolic risk score were computed.

Results: V̇O_2peak scaled by body mass was inversely associated with insulin, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, triglycerides, diastolic blood pressure, the cardiometabolic risk score and the number of cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adults. However, these associations attenuated remarkably when V̇O_2peak was scaled by total fat free mass or allometrically modelled body mass, fat free mass, or stature. V̇O_2peak was consistently and positively associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in children and adults irrespective of the scaling approach.

Conclusions: The inverse associations of cardiorespiratory fitness with cardiometabolic risk factors among children and adults attenuated remarkably when body size and composition were appropriately controlled for. However, the positive association between cardiorespiratory fitness and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was consistent irrespective of the scaling approach.

Keywords: Body composition; Fitness; Insulin resistance; Metabolic syndrome; Obesity; Paediatrics.

MeSH terms

Adult
Blood Pressure
Cardiorespiratory Fitness*
Cardiovascular Diseases*
Child
Cholesterol, HDL
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Insulin
Insulin Resistance*
Male
Metabolic Syndrome*
Physical Fitness
Risk Factors
Triglycerides

Substances

Cholesterol, HDL
Triglycerides
Insulin