Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Aug;41(4):1124-31.
doi: 10.1093/ije/dys073. Epub 2012 May 9.

High impact activity is related to lean but not fat mass: findings from a population-based study in adolescents

Kevin Deere  1 , Adrian Sayers, George Davey Smith, Jörn Rittweger, Jon H Tobias
Affiliations

High impact activity is related to lean but not fat mass: findings from a population-based study in adolescents

Kevin Deere et al. Int J Epidemiol. 2012 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Objective measures of physical activity calibrated against energy expenditure may have limited utility in studying relationships with musculoskeletal phenotypes. We wished to assess an alternative approach using an accelerometer calibrated according to impact loading.

Methods: Of the 17-year olds from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), 732 wore Newtest accelerometers while performing day-to-day activities for a mean of 5.8 days. Outputs were categorized as light, moderate, high and very high impact, based on the thresholds identified in 22 adolescents during graded activities. In subsequent regression analyses, activity data and fat mass were normalized by log transformation.

Results: The number of counts relating to high impact activity was ~2% that of light impact activity, and 33% greater in boys when compared with girls. High impact activity was more strongly related to lean mass [light: 0.033 (95% CI -0.023 to 0.089), moderate: 0.035 (95% CI -0.010 to 0.080) and high: 0.044 (95% CI 0.010 to 0.078)] (β = SD change in outcome per doubling in activity, height adjusted, boys and girls combined). In contrast, lower impact activity was more strongly related to fat mass [light: -0.069 (95% CI -0.127 to -0.011), moderate: -0.060 (95% CI -0.107 to -0.014) and high: -0.033 (95% CI -0.069 to 0.003)]. In a more fully adjusted model including other activity types and fat/lean mass, lean mass was related to only high activity (boys and girls combined), whereas fat mass was related to only moderate activity (girls only).

Conclusions: Using an accelerometer calibrated according to impact loading revealed that high impact activity is related to lean but not fat mass.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram showing the participant n at each stage of the data preparation
Figure 2
Figure 2
Impact profile of 15 boys and 7 girls undergoing a range of different supervised activities as shown. Each bar represents the sum of counts accrued within that g-band for all subjects combined on a logarithmic scale
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Kohl HW, Fulton JE, Casperson C. Assessment of physical activity among children and adolescents: a review and synthesis. Prev Med. 2000;31:S54–76.
    1. Mattocks C, Leary S, Ness A, et al. Intraindividual variation of objectively measured physical activity in children. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39:622–29. - PubMed
    1. Mattocks C, Leary S, Ness A, et al. Calibration of an accelerometer during free-living activities in children. Int J Pediatr Obes. 2007;2:218–26. - PubMed
    1. Riddoch CJ, Leary SD, Ness AR, et al. Prospective associations between objective measures of physical activity and fat mass in 12–14 year old children: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) BMJ. 2009;339:b4544. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sayers A, Mattocks C, Deere K, Ness A, Riddoch C, Tobias JH. Habitual levels of vigorous, but not moderate or light, physical activity is positively related to cortical bone mass in adolescents. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011;96:E793–802. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types