Reciprocal Longitudinal Relationship Between Fitness, Fatness, and Metabolic Syndrome in Brazilian Children and Adolescents: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Purpose: To verify the reciprocal longitudinal relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), percentage body fat (%body fat), and metabolic syndrome in Brazilian primary school students. Method: This longitudinal study involved 420 children and adolescents followed for 3 years (2011–2014). The continuous Metabolic Syndrome (cMetSyn) score was calculated by summing adjusted z scores of glucose, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, triglycerides, and waist circumference. The CRF was assessed using running/walking tests, and %body fat was assessed through sex-specific 2-site skinfold thickness. Cross-lagged panel models were used to analyze longitudinal reciprocal relationships between CRF and %body fat with cMetSyn. Results: Results indicated that 2011 %body fat significantly predicted both 2014 CRF scores and 2014 cMetSyn scores (P < .001); however, 2011 CRF only predicted 2014 %body fat (P < .001) but not 2014 cMetSyn (P = .103). Furthermore, 2011 cMetSyn predicted 2014 %body fat (P = .002). The model explained 36%, 48%, and 37% of the variance in 2014 CRF, %body fat, and cMetSyn, respectively. Conclusion: The results suggest a reciprocal inverse relationship between %body fat and metabolic syndrome risk and that %body fat may play a more important role in the risk of developing metabolic syndrome compared with CRF.

Changes in Physical Fitness during COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown among Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study

“…Notably, there is a bidirectional relationship between obesity and physical fitness, and fitness predicting obesity was stronger than obesity predicting fitness [ 15 ]. Both of them are key factors in the health of adolescents [ 16 , 17 ].…”

Mediation Role of Physical Fitness and Its Components on the Association Between Distribution-Related Fat Indicators and Adolescents’ Cognitive Performance: Exploring the Influence of School Vulnerability. The Cogni-Action Project

“…For instance, visceral fat seems to affect cognitive functioning to a greater extent than other general (non-specific) or peripheral indicators (Schwartz et al, 2013). Also, longitudinal and bidirectional evidence in children and adolescents have shown that fatness may play a more relevant role in the risk of developing metabolic syndrome compared with CRF (Reuter et al, 2021), and that fatness changes were associated with future CRF levels, independently of baseline CRF (Perez-Bey et al, 2020). The aforementioned, support our theoretical approach considering fatness as a predictor of cognitive performance.…”

Fitness and fatness in children and adolescents: investigating their role in the association between physical activity and cardiometabolic health

“…In obese individuals, the CRF is improved through the regular practice of exercise and demonstrates benefits to metabolic health, independent of weight loss [ 35 ]. A recent longitudinal study developed with Brazilian children and adolescents indicated that healthy body composition may exert a stronger protective effect on cardiometabolic health than high levels of CRF [ 36 ]. On the other hand, it has been suggested that fitness is a better predictor of cardiovascular disease risk than fatness in adolescents [ 36 , 37 ].…”