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 ) .
Prospective associations between physical activity and obesity among adolescent girls: racial differences and implications for prevention.
OBJECTIVE To test for differences in prospect i ve associations between physical activity and obesity among black and white adolescent girls . DESIGN Prospect i ve cohort study using data from the National Heart , Lung , and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study . SETTING Multicenter study at the University of California ( Berkeley ) , Children 's Medical Center at the University of Cincinnati ( Cincinnati , Ohio ) , and Westat , Inc , and Group Health Association ( Rockville , Maryl and ) . PARTICIPANTS A total of 1148 adolescent girls ( 538 black and 610 white ) who provided valid data on levels of physical activity and obesity at ages 12 and 14 years . INTERVENTION Physical activity , assessed as accelerometer counts per day . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Three measurements of obesity were obtained using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition of obesity ( at or above the age-specific 95th percentile of body mass index ) , the International Obesity Task Force reference body mass index cut points for obesity in children , and the sums of skinfold thickness ( with the cohort ≥90th percentile as indicative of obesity ) . RESULTS We found a strong negative dose-response association between quartiles of accelerometer counts per day at age 12 years and obesity at age 14 years ( using all 3 measurements of obesity ) in white but not black girls ( P < .001 for body mass index interaction and P = .06 for sums of skinfold thickness interaction ) . The odds ratios for obesity ( using the cohort ≥90th percentile for sums of skinfold thickness ) in adjusted models between the top and the bottom quartiles of accelerometer counts per day were 0.15 ( 95 % CI , 0.04 - 0.63 ; P = .03 for trend ) in white girls and 0.85 ( 95 % CI , 0.32 - 2.26 ; P = .93 for trend ) in black girls . CONCLUSIONS Higher levels of physical activity are prospect ively associated with lower levels of obesity in white adolescent girls but not in black adolescent girls . Obesity prevention interventions may need to be adapted to account for the finding that black girls are less sensitive to the effects of physical activity
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 ) .