SAMRC/WITS Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Matern Child Health J. 2022 Aug;26(8):1632-1640. doi: 10.1007/s10995-022-03406-5. Epub 2022 May 25.
Considering the importance of the early life period, in conjunction with the increasing prevalence of adiposity and insufficient physical activity already evident in early childhood, this study aimed to determine associations between abdominal adiposity, body size, and objectively measured physical activity in infancy.
Infants (n = 138, aged 3-24 months) from Soweto, South Africa were recruited to this cross-sectional study. Visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous abdominal fat (SAT) were measured using ultrasound. Physical activity was assessed using accelerometry and analysed at the hourly level. Multilevel linear regression analyses were run with body composition exposures adjusted for age, sex, and length; models with VAT and SAT were also adjusted for total abdominal fat.
Mean (SD) age was 11.8 (7.6) months; 86% were normal weight, 7% were underweight and 7% overweight. In linear models, no body composition variable was significantly associated with physical activity. Physical activity was higher with each increasing length tertile (ANOVA p < 0.01); with a mean(95%CI) 29(60-60)mg in the lowest tertile, 39(71-71)mg in the middle tertile, and 50(81-82)mg in the highest tertile. Infants with normal weight had higher mean(95%CI) physical activity (40(70-80)mg) than underweight (34(73-85)mg, p = 0.01) or overweight infants (31(63-78)mg, ANOVA p < 0.01). When also adjusting for total abdominal fat, infants in the lowest SAT tertile had higher physical activity than those in the middle or highest SAT tertiles (p < 0.01).
These findings lend support for higher physical activity as a marker of healthy growth in the first two years of life.
鉴于生命早期阶段的重要性，再加上肥胖症的发病率不断上升以及儿童早期体力活动不足的情况已经很明显，本研究旨在确定婴儿期腹部肥胖、体型和身体活动的客观测量之间的关联。
本横断面研究招募了来自南非索韦托的 138 名年龄在 3-24 个月的婴儿。使用超声测量内脏（VAT）和腹部皮下脂肪（SAT）。使用加速度计评估体力活动，并在每小时水平上进行分析。使用多水平线性回归分析，对年龄、性别和长度调整后的身体成分暴露进行分析；VAT 和 SAT 的模型也调整了总腹部脂肪。
平均（SD）年龄为 11.8（7.6）个月；86%为正常体重，7%为体重不足，7%为超重。在线性模型中，没有身体成分变量与体力活动显著相关。随着长度 tertile 的增加，体力活动也随之增加（ANOVA p<0.01）；最低 tertile 的平均（95%CI）为 29（60-60）mg，中间 tertile 为 39（71-71）mg，最高 tertile 为 50（81-82）mg。正常体重婴儿的平均（95%CI）体力活动（40（70-80）mg）高于体重不足（34（73-85）mg，p=0.01）或超重婴儿（31（63-78）mg，ANOVA p<0.01）。当也调整总腹部脂肪时，SAT 最低 tertile 的婴儿比中间 tertile 或最高 tertile 的婴儿体力活动更高（p<0.01）。
这些发现支持了在生命的头两年，更高的体力活动是健康成长的标志。
