Overall , total PA was favourably associated with physical , psychological/social , and cognitive health indicators .
Relationships were more consistent and robust for higher ( e.g. , MVPA ) versus lower ( e.g. , LPA ) intensity PA .
All patterns of activity ( sporadic , bouts , continuous ) provided benefit .
LPA was favourably associated with cardiometabolic biomarkers ; data were scarce for other outcomes .
These findings continue to support the importance of at least 60 min/day of MVPA for disease prevention and health promotion in children and youth , but also highlight the potential benefits of LPA and total PA .
Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity ( MVPA ) is essential for disease prevention and health promotion .
Emerging evidence suggests other intensities of physical activity ( PA ) , including light-intensity activity ( LPA ) , may also be important , but there has been no rigorous evaluation of the evidence .
The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the relationships between objective ly measured PA ( total and all intensities ) and health indicators in school-aged children and youth .
Online data bases were search ed for peer- review ed studies that met the a priori inclusion criteria : population ( apparently healthy , aged 5 - 17 years ) , intervention/exposure/comparator ( volumes , duration s , frequencies , intensities , and patterns of objective ly measured PA ) , and outcome ( body composition , cardiometabolic biomarkers , physical fitness , behavioural conduct/pro-social behaviour , cognition/academic achievement , quality of life/well-being , harms , bone health , motor skill development , psychological distress , self-esteem ) .
Effect of fitness and physical activity on bone mass in adolescents: the HELENA Study
Our aim is to analyse the effect on bone mass of : ( 1 ) physical fitness performance on a specific group of physical activity ( PA ) and , ( 2 ) PA on a specific physical fitness performance group . Bone mineral content ( BMC ) by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry ( DXA ) and PA by accelerometers was assessed in 373 Spanish adolescents ( 182 males ) . Adolescents were classified as : active and non-active ( ≥60 or < 60 min day−1 of moderate-vigorous PA ) . Fitness was assessed through speed/agility , strength and cardiorespiratory tests . Adolescents were classified by tertiles ( T1 , T2 and T3 ) . ANCOVA was used for the analysis with sex , height , lean mass , calcium intake and pubertal status as covariates . Adolescents with lower strength , speed/agility and cardiorespiratory fitness ( CRF ) showed lower BMC in the whole body and extremities compared with adolescents with better results in these tests , mainly those non-active adolescents . Non-active adolescents with high fitness levels showed higher BMC ( whole body and upper limbs ) than active ones . The conclusions included : ( 1 ) within the non-active group , lower levels of fitness were associated with lower BMC ; this might be through PA or trough an effect of PA on muscle mass . ( 2 ) Non-active adolescents with high level of fitness in most fitness tests showed higher BMC than their active peers , in spite of their lower PA levels . These unexpected results could be influenced by several factors such as genetics , nutrition , type of exercise or sport , hormones and skeletal age
Overall , total PA was favourably associated with physical , psychological/social , and cognitive health indicators .
Relationships were more consistent and robust for higher ( e.g. , MVPA ) versus lower ( e.g. , LPA ) intensity PA .
All patterns of activity ( sporadic , bouts , continuous ) provided benefit .
LPA was favourably associated with cardiometabolic biomarkers ; data were scarce for other outcomes .
These findings continue to support the importance of at least 60 min/day of MVPA for disease prevention and health promotion in children and youth , but also highlight the potential benefits of LPA and total PA .
Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity ( MVPA ) is essential for disease prevention and health promotion .
Emerging evidence suggests other intensities of physical activity ( PA ) , including light-intensity activity ( LPA ) , may also be important , but there has been no rigorous evaluation of the evidence .
The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the relationships between objective ly measured PA ( total and all intensities ) and health indicators in school-aged children and youth .
Online data bases were search ed for peer- review ed studies that met the a priori inclusion criteria : population ( apparently healthy , aged 5 - 17 years ) , intervention/exposure/comparator ( volumes , duration s , frequencies , intensities , and patterns of objective ly measured PA ) , and outcome ( body composition , cardiometabolic biomarkers , physical fitness , behavioural conduct/pro-social behaviour , cognition/academic achievement , quality of life/well-being , harms , bone health , motor skill development , psychological distress , self-esteem ) .