Associations of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Assessed by Accelerometer with Body Composition among Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review

Emanuela Gualdi-Russo, Natascia Rinaldo, Stefania Toselli and Luciana Zaccagni
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Emanuela Gualdi-Russo: Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Prevention, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Natascia Rinaldo: Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Prevention, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Stefania Toselli: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Science, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Luciana Zaccagni: Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Prevention, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: The possible adverse health effects of reduced physical activity (PA) on children and adolescents have been extensively documented as a result of the global obesity epidemic. However, the research has sometimes led to controversial results, due to the different methods used for the assessment of PA. The main aim of this review was to evaluate the association between PA and body composition parameters based on quantitative PA studies using the same equipment (Actigraph accelerometer) and cutoffs (Evenson’s). A literature review was undertaken using PUBMED and Scopus databases. Subjects aged 6–15 were considered separately by sex. Weighted multiple regression analyses were conducted. From the analysis of fourteen selected articles, it emerged that 35.7% did not evaluate the association of sedentary time (ST) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with body composition, while the remaining 64.3% found a negative association of MVPA with BMI and fat mass with different trends according to sex. Furthermore, only 7.1% of these studies identified a positive association between ST and fat percentage. Based on the regression analyses conducted on the literature data, ST and MVPA were found to be significant predictors of body composition parameters, in addition to age and sex. Further studies using standardized methodologies to assess PA and body composition are needed. The inclusion of sex-disaggregated data may also be crucial to understand this phenomenon and to provide stronger evidence of the determinants of body composition in order to prevent the risk of obesity.

Keywords: accelerometer; sedentary behaviour; moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; age; sex; body composition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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