Serum Vitamin D Levels Mediate the Association Between Physical Activity and Blood Pressure in Adolescents.

Individuals with low levels of vitamin D are associated with cardiovascular risks, such as elevated blood pressure (BP), and are; therefore, more likely to develop hypertension. Patients with vitamin D deficiency may face an increased risk of cardiovascular events. In this study, a multicenter, cross-sectional, and school-based investigation was conducted as part of the ERICA project. The sample comprised 1152 adolescents aged 12-17 years from 4 Brazilian cities. Anthropometric variables, BP measurements, and hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were assessed. A 2-level linear regression was fitted to examine the relationship between each level of BP and independent variables. Our findings indicate that movement behaviors were not associated with BP levels, with the exception of sleep time, which demonstrated a positive association. However, after adjustment, this association was found to be nonsignificant. Our study's mediation analysis revealed that vitamin D mediates up to 12.9% of the association between physical activity and systolic BP. Vitamin D is inversely associated with BP in adolescents. In addition to mediating the physical activity and systolic BP association, engaging in physical activity, particularly outdoors, can provide a dual benefit for adolescents by increasing serum vitamin D levels and assisting in the control of BP levels.

Using the Nutrition Facts Label to Make Food Choices Is Associated with Healthier Eating among 8th and 11th-Grade Students: An Analysis of Statewide Representative Data from the 2019-2020 Texas School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition labels are a tool to inform and encourage the public to make healthier food choices, but little information is available about use in multi-ethnic adolescent populations in the U.S. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between the level of nutrition label usage and healthy/unhealthy eating behaviors among a statewide representative sample of 8th and 11th-grade students in Texas. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional associations between the Nutrition Facts label use and eating behaviors from a statewide sample of 8th and 11th-grade students in Texas, (n = 4730, weighted n = 710,731, mean age = 14.7 ± 1.6 years; 49% female, 51% Hispanic), who completed the 2019-2020 Texas School Physical Activity and Nutrition (TX SPAN) survey. Students self-reported their level of nutrition label usage to make food choices (5-point Likert scale from "Never" to "Always") and previous day consumption of 26 food items (13 healthy, 13 unhealthy). The 26 food items were used to calculate a Healthy Eating Index (HEI) score (0-100), a Healthy Foods Index (HFI) score (0-100), and an Unhealthy Foods Index (UFI) score (0-100). Weighted linear regression models were employed to examine the associations between self-reported use of nutrition labels to make food choices and HEI, HFI, and UFI scores. Marginal predicted means of HEI, HFI, and UFI scores were calculated post hoc from linear regression models. The odds of consuming specific individual food items for nutrition label usage were also calculated from weighted logistic regression models. All linear and logistic regression models were adjusted for grade, sex, Body Mass Index (BMI), race/ethnicity, economic disadvantage, and percentage of English language learners by school. RESULTS: A total of 11.0% of students reported always/almost always using nutrition labels to make food choices, 27.9% reported sometimes using them, while 61.0% indicated they never/almost never used nutrition labels to make food choices. The average HEI score among students in the sample was 47.7 ± 5.9. Nutrition Facts label usage was significantly and positively associated with HEI (b = 5.79, 95%CI: 4.45, 7.12) and HFI (b = 7.28, 95%CI:4.48, 10.07), and significantly and negatively associated with UFI (b = -4.30, 95%CI: -6.25, -2.34). A dose-response relationship was observed between nutrition label usage and HEI, HFI, and UFI scores, such that the strength of these associations increased with each one-point increase in nutrition label usage. Students who reported using nutrition labels always/almost always to make food choices had significantly higher odds of consuming healthy foods including baked meat, nuts, brown bread, vegetables, whole fruit, and yogurt (ORrange = 1.31-3.07), and significantly lower odds of consuming unhealthy foods including chips, cake, candy, and soda (ORrange = 0.48-0.68) compared to students who reported never/almost never using the Nutrition Facts label. CONCLUSIONS: Using the Nutrition Facts labels to make food choices is beneficially associated with healthy and unhealthy eating among 8th and 11th-grade students, although the proportion of students using nutrition labels to make their food choices was low. Public health efforts should be made to improve nutrition literacy and encourage nutrition label use among secondary students in the United States.

24 h movement behavior and metabolic syndrome study protocol: A prospective cohort study on lifestyle and risk of developing metabolic syndrome in undergraduate students from low-income regions during a pandemic.

Introduction: Obesity and its comorbidities are increasingly prevalent in Latin America, with a more rapid growth in individuals with lower income. The composition of movement behaviors within a 24 h period may have important implications for obesity, metabolic and mental health in cross-sectional data. However, a longitudinal study is needed to confirm the findings from the primarily cross-sectional evidence. The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with cardiometabolic outcomes and has impeded healthy behavior. Objectives: The first objective is to evaluate the time elapsed since the diagnosis of not meeting 24 h movement guidelines and the potential subsequent onset of metabolic syndrome in undergraduate students from low-income regions within 4 years of follow up. The second objective is to test the association between 24 h movement, mental wellbeing, eating behaviors, and abdominal obesity in the period of this pandemic. Methods: The 24 h movement behavior and metabolic syndrome (24 h-MESYN) study is a multicentre cohort study that will include participants from two Brazilian cities within the 2022-2025 period to asses the first objective, and also a nested case-control study at the baseline will be carried out to evaluate the second objective. Previously, we conducted a feasibility study in the academic year of 2021 to assessing the psychometric properties of subjective tools, refine our study protocol, and adjust the epidemiological conditions of the cohort's subsequent phases (like as prevalence of exposure of interest, sampling process, and study adherence). Statistical tests as Cohen's kappa agreement; factorial analysis; logistic, Poisson and linear regression; and Kaplan-Meier analysis will be performed, in accordance with the objectives.

Leptin and adiposity as mediators on the association between early puberty and several biomarkers in European adolescents: the HELENA Study.

Background Adolescents having early puberty (EP) are more likely to have obesity and increased cardiometabolic and inflammatory markers and atherosclerosis risk. We aimed to assess the indirect and mediated effects of leptin and adiposity on the relation between EP and cardiometabolic and inflammatory markers in European adolescents. Methods A sample of 511 adolescents with EP (12.5-17.5 years) from the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) cross-sectional study was studied. To assess whether leptin levels and adiposity mediate the relation between EP and several biomarkers, linear regression models for mediation analyses were performed. Results EP was positively associated with the atherogenic index (Ath-I) (ß=0.174; 95%CI 0.029-0.265) and negatively associated with the C-reactive protein (CRP) (ß=-0.284; 95%CI -0.542 to -0.028) in girls. These associations were fully mediated by leptin levels (9.5%) and adiposity (44%), respectively. Moreover, EP has indirect effects on the apolipoprotein A-1 (ApoA-1) levels through adiposity in girls (for body mass index [BMI], ß=0.014; 95%CI 0.005-0.028, and for waist circumference [WC], ß=0.011; 95%CI 0.003-0.024), and on ApoA-1 (ß=0.012; 95%CI 0.004-0.025), apolipoprotein B (ApoB) (ß=-0.004; 95%CI -0.011 to -0.0004) and CRP (ß=-0.265; 95%CI -0.819 to -0.047) through abdominal fat in boys. Conclusions Leptin levels and adiposity seem to play an important indirect and mediation role in the association between EP and cardiometabolic and inflammatory markers in adolescents. Weight control should be recommended in order to control the impaired cardiometabolic and inflammatory status arising in early pubertal adolescents.

Lean mass explains the association between muscular fitness and bone outcomes in 13-year-old boys.

AIM: This study investigated the associations between fitness indices and bone outcomes in young males. METHODS: Data were collected between autumn and winter 2014-2015 on 121 males with a mean age of 13.1 ± 0.1 years: 41 swimmers, 37 footballers, 29 cyclists and 14 nonathletes. Participants were recruited from athletic clubs and schools across South West England. Lean mass, areal bone mineral density and hip structural estimates were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The relationships between bone outcomes and the vertical jump, standing long jump and the 20-m shuttle run test were analysed using three regression models: model 1 was adjusted by age and stature, model 2 added vigorous physical activity and model 3 then added lean mass. RESULTS: The boys' performance in the vertical jump and standing long jump was positively associated with the majority of bone outcomes in models 1 and 2, but most of these disappeared in model 3. The 20-m shuttle run test was positively associated with most bone outcomes in all three models. Lean mass played a key role in the association between muscular fitness and bone outcomes. CONCLUSION: Vigorous physical activity did not explain the associations between fitness and bone outcomes, but lean mass did.

Sobrepeso e obesidade em crianças de diferentesníveis econômicos / Overweight and obesity in children of differentsocioeconomic levels

O excesso de peso está associado a inúmeros fatores, dentre eles, o nível socioeconômico das famílias. Assim, este trabalho objetivou avaliar a relação entre os níveis de sobrepeso e obesidade e a classe econômica de crianças de 6,0 a 7,9 anos, do município de Maringá/PR. O Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC) foi utilizado para diagnóstico do estado nutricional. Para a classificação econômica familiar, foi empregada proposta da Associação Brasileira de Empresas de Pesquisa (ABEP), sendo que as classes originais foram reagrupadas em níveis econômicos alto (classes A1, A2, B1), médio (classes B2, C1 e C2) e baixo (classes D e E). O tratamento estatístico foi realizado utilizando pacote computadorizadoSPSS 13.0 e testes não-paramétricos e Odds Ratio (OR) com intervalo de confiança (IC) de 95%. Foram avaliadas 1634 crianças de 24 escolas públicas e privadas, com idade média de 7,1±0,51 anos, sendo 50,8% do sexo feminino. Não foram observadas diferenças significativas entre os gêneros, para os valores de IMC, das crianças com sobrepeso e obesidade. A prevalência de excesso de peso (sobrepeso+obesidade) foi de 22,3% entre os meninos e de 21,9% entre as meninas. Não houve associação estatística entre o excesso de peso e o gênero. Por outro lado, crianças do nível econômico A apresentaram 28% mais chancede apresentar excesso de peso que aquelas do nível B. Concluindo, neste estudo, ambos os gêneros foram igualmente afetados pelo excesso de peso, com maior prevalência entre os meninos, e as crianças pertencentes a famílias de níveis econômicos inferiores apresentarammenor chance de apresentarem excesso de peso.

Excess weight is associated with various factors, including socioeconomic level. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between overweight and obesity and socioeconomic level in children aged 6.0-7.9 years from Maringá, Paraná. Body mass index (BMI)was used for the assessment of nutritional status. Family socioeconomic status was classified based on the proposal of the Brazilian Association of Research Companies (ABEP), and the originally proposed classes were regrouped into high (A1, A2, and B1), medium (B2, C1, andC2) and low (D and E) socioeconomic level. The data were analyzed statistically with the SPSS 13.0 program using nonparametric tests and odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval (CI). A total of 1,634 children from 24 public and private schools (mean age: 7.1 ± 0.5 years, 50.8%girls) were studied. No significant difference in BMI was observed between boys and girls with overweight and obesity. The prevalence of excess weight (overweight + obesity) was 22.3% and 21.9% among boys and girls, respectively. There was no significant association between excess weight and gender. However, children of high socioeconomic level had a 28% higher chance of excess weight than those of low level. In conclusion, in this study both boys and girls were equally affected by excess weight, with a higher prevalence among boys. Children from families of lower socioeconomic levels presented a lower chance of excess weight.