Association among serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations and physical activity, physical fitness, and body composition in young children

doi:10.1016/S0022-3476(05)81687-7

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 123, Issue 2, August 1993, Pages 185-192

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3476(05)81687-7 Get rights and content

Objective: To examine the relationships among indicators of physical activity, physical fitness, and body composition with serum lipid and lipoprotein levels in young children.

Design: Cross-sectional and 1-year prospective cohort.

Setting: Studies of Child Activity and Nutrition (SCAN) program, Galveston, Tex.

Subjects: One hundred twenty-three 4- or 5-year-old black, Hispanic (of Mexican origin), and white children.

Measurements: Body composition, resting heart rate, and cardiovascular fitness variables and serum lipid and lipoprotein levels were measured at age 3 or 4 years (study year 1) and at age 4 or 5 years (study year 2), and day-long heart rate was measured and the Children's Activity Rating Scale was administered between study years 1 and 2.

Results: Year-1 waist/hip ratios were inversely correlated with total serum cholesterol (TSC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. Mean activity level was inversely correlated with waist/hip ratios. On the basis of multiple regression analysis, the sum of seven skin-fold measurements, height, and gender explained 15.4% of the variation in triglyceride levels. The sum of seven skin-fold measurements was inversely correlated with the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level. Resting heart rate, waist/hip ratio, and the slope of the exercise heart rate during fitness testing explained 19.5% of the variation in the concentration of an HDL subclass, HDL₂. These children's levels of physical activity were associated with higher fitness levels. Year-1 waist/hip ratios and year-2 sum of seven skin-fold measurements were positively correlated with the LDL/HDL and TSC/HDL ratios.

Conclusion: Higher levels of cardiovascular fitness and lower levels of fatness were associated with more favorable serum lipid and lipoprotein levels in these young children. Physical activity appeared to have an indirect association with serum lipid and lipoprotein values through its relationship with higher fitness levels and lower levels of fatness.

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Original articleAssociation among serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations and physical activity, physical fitness, and body composition in young children

Pediatr Clin North Am

J Adolesc Health Care

J Adolesc Health Care

J Adolesc Health Care

J Adolesc Health Care

Comput Biol Med

J Clin Epidemiol

Assessment, prevalence, and cardiovascular benefits of physical activity and fitness in youth

Med Sci Sports Exerc

Autopsy studies of United States children and adolescents, relationship of risk factors to arteriosclerotic lesions

Ann NY Acad Sci

The effects of exercise on serum lipid levels in white male adolescents

Med Sci Sports Exerc

Comparison of serum lipids between habitually high and low active preadolescent males

Med Sci Sports Exerc

The association between physical fitness and cardiovascular disease risk factors in children in a five-year follow-up study

J Epidemiol

The effect of weight control on lipid changes in obese children

Am J Dis Child

Lipids and lipoproteins in a triethnic sample of 5- or 6-year-old type A or type B children

Behav Med

Cardiovascular reactivity and serum lipids and lipoproteins in 6- or 7-year-old children

Recruitment strategies for multi-ethnic family and community research: a primer and model

Community and Family Health

Ethnicity, infant-feeding practices, and childhood adiposity

J Dev Behav Pediatr

Ethnic differences in anthropometric characteristics of young children and their parents

Hum Biol

Original article
Association among serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations and physical activity, physical fitness, and body composition in young children