Tracking of obesity-related behaviours from childhood to adulthood: A systematic review

Although different indicators of physical activity and different methods of analysis are used, it appears that physical activity tracks at low to moderate levels during adolescence, from adolescence into adulthood, and across various ages in adulthood. Tracking of inactivity is less often studied. Measures of performance- and health-related physical fitness (strength, flexibility, motor fitness, aerobic power) track significantly across childhood and adolescence, but correlations are low to moderate. Limited data that span adolescence into adulthood indicate somewhat higher interage correlations for flexibility, static strength, and power. Data for different periods in adulthood are not available. Presently, it is common to criticize focus on motor and sport skills in physical education and competitive sports as contrary to health and fitness goals (e.g., James, 1995; Livingstone, 1994; Simons-Morton et al., 1988). There is a need, however, to distinguish between youth or community sports and highly specialized sport for the elite. Sports activities, be they competitive or recreational, are probably the major form of physical activity during childhood and adolescence, and perhaps in young adulthood. Though low to moderate, the tracking of various activity indicators, most of which include sport participation, suggests that sport activities during childhood and youth may form the foundation for activity habits in the future.

Tracking of physical activity and physical fitness across the lifespan.

The aim of the article was to review studies on the tracking of physical activity in all phases of life from childhood to late adulthood. The majority of the studies have been published since 2000. The follow-up time in most studies was short, the median being 9 years. In men, the stability of physical activity was significant but low or moderate during all life phases and also in longterm follow-ups. In women, the tracking was lower and in many cases non-significant. Among both sexes, stability seems to be lower in early childhood than in adolescence or in adulthood and lower in transitional phases, such as from childhood to adolescence or from adolescence to adulthood, than in adulthood. However, the differences in the stability of physical activity between age groups and between different phases of life were small. The number of tracking studies utilising objective methods to measure physical activity was so small that systematic differences in stability between self-report and objective methods could not be determined. A factor which caused differences in tracking results was the adjustment of correlations for measurement error and other error variance. Adjusted coefficients were clearly higher than unadjusted ones. However, adjustment was done only in very few studies. If the different methods used for estimating habitual physical activity and the failure to control for important covariates in studies of tracking are taken into account, physical activity appears to track reasonably well also in the longer term, for example from adolescence to adulthood. The results of the tracking studies support the idea that the enhancement of physical activity in children and adolescents is of great importance for the promotion of public health.

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Tracking of physical activity from childhood to adulthood: A review

This study presents data collected over the past 10 years on the muscle fiber type composition of the vastus lateralis muscle of young men and women. Biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis muscle of 55 women (21.2+/-2.2 yr) and 95 men (21.5+/-2.4 yr) who had volunteered to participate in various research projects. Six fiber types (I, IC, IIC, IIA, IIAB, and IIB) were classified using mATPase histochemistry, and cross-sectional area was measured for the major fiber types (I, IIA, and IIB). Myosin heavy chain (MHC) content was determined electrophoretically on all of the samples from the men and on 26 samples from the women. With the exception of fiber Type IC, no significant differences were found between men and women for muscle fiber type distribution. The vastus lateralis muscle of both the men and women contained approximately 41% I, 1% IC, 1% IIC, 31% IIA, 6% IIAB, and 20% IIB. However, the cross-sectional area of all three major fiber types was larger for the men compared to the women. In addition, the Type IIA fibers were the largest for the men, whereas the Type I fibers tended to be the largest for the women. Therefore, gender differences were found with regard to the area occupied by each specific fiber type: IIA>I>IIB for the men and I>IIA>IIB for the women. These data establish normative values for the mATPase-based fiber type distribution and sizes in untrained young men and women.

Fiber type composition of the vastus lateralis muscle of young men and women.

Contemporary thinking in public health posits that childhood and adolescent physical activity and physical fitness may influence health status during childhood and adolescence, as well as throughout adulthood. This paper addresses the evidence dealing with potential associations of physical activity and physical fitness in childhood and adolescence to health status during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. There are generally low to moderate relationships between childhood and adolescent physical activity and health (operationalized largely in terms of health-related physical fitness) and adult physical activity and health. A large part of the variability in health-related fitness is not accounted for by physical activity as assessed in the available studies. Nevertheless, the trends emphasize the importance of a lifestyle of regular physical activity during childhood and adolescence, which continues into and throughout adulthood, for the health and well-being of the individuals and populations.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/1520-6300%28200102/03%2913%3A2%3C162%3A%3AAID-AJHB1025%3E3.0.CO%3B2-T

Physical activity and fitness: pathways from childhood to adulthood.

The purpose of the study was to investigate to what extent the physical activity pattern in adulthood can be predicted by physical characteristics, performance and activity in adolescence. A group of 62 men and 43 women completed a questionnaire concerning physical activity during their leisure time at the ages of 16 and 27 years. An activity index produced from the questionnaire. At the age of 16 years, the subjects were also tested for strength (strength test battery) and running performance (9-min run). Maximal oxygen uptake (\(\dot V{\text{O}}_{{\text{2max}}} \)) was estimated from a submaximal test and a muscle biopsy specimen was taken and analysed for fibre types (percentages of types I, IIA, 1113). The proportion of subjects engaged in some kind of physical activity during their leisure time was approximately 70% among the women and 80% among the men at both ages. The time spent on physical activity (minutes per week) decreased with age for the men but not for the women. The women devoted less time. to physical activity than the men both at age 16 and 27 years. The attitude to endurance activities had changed to a more positive attitude among the women and to a less positive attitude among the men at age 27 years. The aerobic potential (\(\dot V{\text{O}}_{{\text{2max}}} \) and percentage of type I fibre), running performance, strength performance, physical activity and marks in physical education at age 16 years explained 82% of the physical activity level in adulthood for the women and 47% for the men. The aerobic potential at age 16 years alone explained 31% of the adult physical activity level in the women and 24% in the men. Strength performance, physical activity and marks in physical education at age 16 years further increased the predictive value for the physical activity level in adulthood for the women but not for the men. It is suggested that the major portion of the variation in physical activity level in adult women, but not in the adult men, could be predicted from physical characteristics, physical performance, and the activity level in adolescence.

Prediction of physical activity level in adulthood by physical characteristics, physical performance and physical activity in adolescence: an 11-year follow-up study.

Age-related changes in muscle fibre characteristics have been presented in cross-sectional studies previously. The aim of the present study was to investigate longitudinally whether the muscle fibre type composition and muscle fibre area change from adolescence to adulthood. Fifty-five men and 28 women were studied at the age of 16 and again at the age of 27. Biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis muscle and analysed for fibre types (I, IIA, IIB, IIC) and fibre areas. Different development of fibre type composition with increased age were seen in women and men: the type I percentage tended to increase in the women (51 +/- 9 to 55 +/- 12) and decrease significantly in the men (55 +/- 12 to 48 +/- 13). The fibre areas remained unchanged in both sexes. It is suggested that there is a sex-related fibre adaptation to increased age.

Changes in muscle fibre type from adolescence to adulthood in women and men

This study investigated the development of muscular endurance and strength from the age of 16 to the age of 34 and the fitness components at the age of 34 in men and women. A randomly selected group consisting of 220 boys and 205 girls was tested in 1974 and reinvestigated 18 years later. Muscular endurance and strength increased significantly in 4 of the 5 remeasured tests for the men; bench press increased by 58%, two-hand lift by 20%, hand grip by 16% and Sargent jump by 8%. For the women there was a significant increase in bench press and two-hand lift by 25% and 7% respecively, but hand grip and Sargent jump decreased with a few per cent. The hip and trunk flexion test, sit-up, decreased remarkably in both men (58%) and women (78%). At the age of 16 physical capacity was significantly higher in all tests in the men. This was also the situation at the age of 34 except for VO2 max in ml. kg−1. min−1 and muscular endurance in the back muscles. There were no differences in flexibility between men and women except for less flexibility in the hamstring muscles in the men. The result of the balance test was significantly better in the men.

Development of muscular endurance and strength from adolescence to adulthood and level of physical capacity in men and women at the age of 34 years

The aim of the present study was to reinvestigate muscle strength and the relationship to muscle fibre and the level of physical activity in adult men and women previously studied during adolescence A group of 55 men and 26 women were tested for maximal strength (handgrip, Sargent jump and two-handlift) and completed a questionnaire concerning physical activity during their leisure time (activity index) at the ages of 16 and 27 years Biopsy specimens were taken from the vastus lateralis and analysed for fibre type (percentage of 1, IIA, IIB) and fibre area (area I, area IIA, area IIB) The sex differences in strength increased from age 16 to 17 years Body dimension, sex, percentage of type II, mean fibre area and the activity index contributed to explaining 50–75% of the strength at both ages Different changes in relationship between fibre type composition and strength in women and men was seen with increasing age In the women, the relationship between strength and the percentage of type II fibres changed with age (from 16 to 27 years of age) from a positive correlation (only Sargent jump) to negative correlations for all the strength tests, ie the more type I fibres the stronger the subject A positive correlation between strength and the level of physical activity during leisure time was revealed in the women at both ages The positive correlation between strength and type II fibres in the 16-year-old men had disappeared at age 27 No systematic relationships between strength and the level of physical activity were seen in the men at either 16 or 27 years of age It is suggested that women may be more dependent on physical activity than adult men to develop strength and the percentage of type I fibres reflects the degree of physical activity among adult women but not among adolescent women

Muscle strength from aldolescence to adulthood : relationship to muscle fibre types

Human skeletal muscle consists mainly of 2 types of fibres denoted type I (slow twitch) and type II (fast twitch). The aim of this investigation was to study skeletal muscle fibre characteristics together with physical performance, physical activity and interest in different physical activities, and the relationships between these variables among students in grade I in high school. Sixty-nine boys and 47 girls at the age of 16 were studied. The relative proportion of type I fibres (type 1%) in vastus lateralis was approximately 50% for both boys and girls and the interindividual variation was large, more so for boys than for girls. The muscle fibre areas for all fibre types were larger in boys than girls and the relationships between the sizes of the areas of type I, type IIA and type IIB differed between the sexes. The muscle enzymes succinate dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase and phosphofructokinase were all on average higher in boys than girls; the only significant difference was in succinate dehydrogenase. There was a positive correlation between performance in a 9-min run and type 1%. for boys but not for girls. Multiple correlation analysis indicated that factors determining the performance in the 9-min run were maximal oxygen uptake and type I% for boys, and maximal oxygen uptake but not fibre types for girls. The attitude to cross-country running was positively correlated with the type I% for boys but not for girls. There was a stronger positive correlation between degree of physical activity and type I% for boys than girls. In conclusion, stronger correlations between muscle fibre characteristics and physical performance, physical activity and interest in physical activity were found for boys than for girls.

G. Hedberg

Papers

Prediction of physical activity level in adulthood by physical characteristics, physical performance and physical activity in adolescence: an 11-year follow-up study.

Changes in muscle fibre type from adolescence to adulthood in women and men

Development of muscular endurance and strength from adolescence to adulthood and level of physical capacity in men and women at the age of 34 years

Muscle strength from aldolescence to adulthood : relationship to muscle fibre types

Skeletal muscle fibre types in teenagers: relationship to physical performance and activity