Sedentary behavior moderates the relationship between physical activity and cardiometabolic risk in young Latino children.

This study investigated the role of objectively measured moderate­vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior on cardiometabolic risk factors of young Latino children. We hypothesized that MVPA would be associated with lower cardiometabolic risk when sedentary behavior is low. The study sample consisted of 51 girls and 35 boys, with mean age 5.6 (SD = .53) years. Participants were primarily low-income, Latino children. We found that greater levels of sedentary behavior were associated with increased waist circumference and metabolic risks. MVPA, however, had significant beneficial associations with all cardiometabolic risk factors with the exception of insulin. MVPA predicted latent variables representing anthropometric risk, cardiac risk, and metabolic risk. Sedentary behavior significantly moderated the effect of MVPA on anthropometric, cardiac, and metabolic risk, such that more MVPA was associated with better health outcomes under conditions of lower sedentary behavior. We conclude that an increased MVPA is associated with decreased cardiometabolic risk in young Latino children, particularly when sedentary behavior is low.