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Physical activity, screen time independently linked to cardiometabolic risk in adolescents
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Moderate to vigorous physical activity and screen time are each associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in Brazilian adolescents, with risks more pronounced in those with overweight and obesity, study findings suggest.
“High levels of [moderate to vigorous physical activity] appear to improve cardiometabolic health in normal-weight, overweight and obese adolescents,” Felipe Vogt Cureau, MSc, of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre in Brazil, and colleagues wrote. “However, we observed that adiposity may modify the association between screen time and cardiometabolic risk factors. Interventions aimed at reducing screen time in combination with increasing levels of physical activity may be more important in overweight/obese youth, especially for boys, whereas increasing physical activity may be [the] preferred strategy in normal-weight youth.”
Cureau and colleagues analyzed data from 36,956 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years participating in the Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (ERICA), a national, school-based, cross-sectional study examining the prevalence of CV risk factors in adolescents, including obesity, metabolic syndrome components, physical activity and diet (60% girls; mean age, 15 years; 17.6% with overweight; 9.2% with obesity). Data were collected between February 2013 and November 2014.
Participants completed a self-administered physical activity checklist consisting of 24 activities (leisure time and commuting), reporting frequency and duration of participation in activities. Screen-time behavior was assessed with one question: “During an ordinary weekday, how many hours do you spend watching television, using the computer or playing video games?”
Researchers stratified time spent watching television as 2 hours or less, between 3 and 5 hours and at least 6 hours per day, and measured blood pressure, height, lipid levels and glucose profiles with fasting blood samples. Cardiometabolic disease risk was defined as a frequency score between 0 and 5. Researchers used ordered logistic regression to assess associations between physical activity level and screen time with the severity of cardiometabolic risk.
Researchers found that higher levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity and screen time were each independently associated with cardiometabolic risk. Compared with a non-active reference group, proportional OR for at least 600 minutes per week of physical activity was 0.8 (95% CI, 0.67-0.95) and proportional OR for at least 6 hours per day of screen time was 1.23 (95% CI, 1.1-1.37). The association persisted for physical activity after stratifying by normal weight vs. overweight or obesity; however, screen time was associated with cardiometabolic risk only in adolescents with overweight or obesity (proportional OR = 1.62; 95% CI, 1.18-2.22).
Adolescents who met recommendations for physical activity and screen time had lower odds for cardiometabolic risk; those with overweight or obesity showed the greatest benefit (proportional OR = 0.46; 95% CI, 0.31-0.68).
“Our results suggest that [moderate to vigorous physical activity] appears more important in relation to cardiometabolic health in adolescents than screen time,” the researchers wrote. “The association for [moderate to vigorous physical activity] was consistent through BMI categories, especially for adolescents who spent at least 600 min per week [physically active]. Further, those adolescents who were categorized as normal weight, which constitutes the majority of the population, were not affected by large amounts of screen time.” – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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