Unit for Preventive Nutrition, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at NOVUM, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Oct;43(10):1891-7. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182190d71.
Information about factors related to overweight development in early stages of life is needed for designing useful strategies to prevent overweight and related diseases. Longitudinal studies can contribute to this goal. The present study aimed to identify factors in childhood that determine the development of overweight/obesity in adolescence.
A prospective study in 598 normal-weight Estonian and Swedish children age 9.5 ± 0.4 yr from the European Youth Heart Study, who were followed during 6 yr, was conducted. Weight and height were measured at baseline and follow-up, and weight status was ascertained according to the international criteria for body mass index. Cardiorespiratory fitness (expressed as VO(2max) (mL·kg(-1)·min(-1))) was assessed by a maximal bike test. Parents reported their weight, height, and educational level.
Being male (vs female) and Estonian (vs Swedish) was related to higher risk for incident overweight/obesity. Change in fitness was a stronger predictor of incident overweight/obesity than childhood fitness, parental overweight, or parental education. The risk of developing overweight/obesity was reduced 10% every 1 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1) of VO(2max) increase (odds ratio = 0.90 and 95% confidence interval = 0.84-0.95) after adjustment for a set of confounders including baseline body mass index and without differences by gender.
Our results suggest that improvements in fitness from childhood to adolescence are associated with a lower risk of becoming overweight/obese in adolescence. The current findings highlight the importance of promoting fitness through physical exercise from early stages in life, as a promising strategy to fight against overweight and obesity. Gender and country differences observed in this study require social and political attention.
为了制定有用的策略来预防超重和相关疾病，需要了解生命早期与超重发展相关的因素。纵向研究可以为此目标做出贡献。本研究旨在确定儿童时期的哪些因素决定了青少年超重/肥胖的发展。
进行了一项前瞻性研究，对来自欧洲青年心脏研究的 598 名正常体重的爱沙尼亚和瑞典儿童（年龄 9.5 ± 0.4 岁）进行随访，随访时间为 6 年。在基线和随访时测量体重和身高，并根据国际身体质量指数标准确定体重状况。心肺适能（用最大摄氧量表示（mL·kg(-1)·min(-1)))通过最大自行车测试进行评估。父母报告了他们的体重、身高和教育水平。
男性（相对于女性）和爱沙尼亚人（相对于瑞典人）超重/肥胖的风险更高。与儿童时期的健康状况、父母超重或父母教育相比，健康状况的变化是超重/肥胖的更强预测指标。在调整了包括基线身体质量指数在内的一系列混杂因素后，最大摄氧量每增加 1 毫升·千克(-1)·分钟(-1)，超重/肥胖的风险降低 10%（比值比=0.90，95%置信区间=0.84-0.95），且无性别差异。
我们的研究结果表明，从儿童期到青春期的健康状况改善与青春期超重/肥胖的风险降低有关。这些发现强调了通过早期的体育锻炼促进健康的重要性，这是对抗超重和肥胖的一种很有前途的策略。本研究中观察到的性别和国家差异需要引起社会和政治关注。
