The findings additionally point out that boys with a rise in physique fats share had a rise in sedentary conduct two years later.
A latest examine finds that physique fats share and quantity of bodily exercise in ladies are unrelated.
Bodily exercise supplies quite a few well being advantages. Nonetheless, bodily exercise impacts girls and boys in a different way. A latest examine analyzed the connection between youngsters’s bodily exercise and physique fats.
“We seemed on the connection between objectively measured bodily exercise and the proportion of physique fats in ladies and boys,” says Silje Steinsbekk, a professor at NTNU’s (the Norwegian University of Science and Technology) Division of Psychology.
Somewhat than weight and peak, the researchers assessed people’ physique composition. They addressed questions akin to: does better bodily exercise end in a decreased proportion of physique fats over time? Or is it potential that individuals who accumulate extra physique fats over time develop into much less bodily energetic?
Physique fats and bodily exercise in ladies are unrelated
The youngsters had been checked each two years by the researchers from the age of six to 14. They found that the diploma of train had diverse results on the sexes.
“In ladies, we discovered no connection between their bodily exercise and quantity of physique fats. Elevated bodily exercise didn’t result in much less physique fats within the ladies, and physique fats had no impact on adjustments of their bodily exercise,” says Tonje Zahl-Thanem, a former analysis fellow and first writer of the article.
Nonetheless, it’s totally different for boys. Their stage of physique fats impacts how energetic they’re.
Extra physique fats in boys ends in much less bodily exercise
“Elevated physique fats in boys led to much less bodily exercise two years later, once they had been 8, 10, and 12 years outdated,” says Zahl-Thanem.
With one exception, elevated bodily exercise had no impact on adjustments in physique fats.
“We discovered that boys who’re extra bodily energetic once they’re 12 years outdated have a decrease proportion of physique fats once they’re 14. This wasn’t the case at an earlier developmental stage,” Steinsbekk says.
A number of potential causes for variations between the sexes
The examine didn’t examine the explanations for these variations, however the researchers level out that enormous our bodies are heavier and require extra exertion when exercising, which can clarify why boys whose physique fats will increase develop into much less energetic over time. However why isn’t this the case for ladies?
“Right here we will solely speculate, however boys are usually extra bodily energetic than ladies, so when boys scale back their exercise stage, the bodily impression is larger,” Steinsbekk says.
We additionally know that youngsters with giant our bodies are much less glad with their our bodies, and physique dissatisfaction is related to much less bodily exercise in boys, however not in ladies.
“Boys’ bodily exercise might be much more competitively oriented than ladies’, and extra physique fats makes it tougher to succeed. Each of those situations may also help clarify why elevated physique fats results in much less bodily exercise in boys, however not ladies,” says Lars Wichstrøm, a professor in NTNU’s Division of Psychology and likewise co-author of the examine.
It is also that ladies usually tend to preserve bodily exercise when their proportion of physique fats will increase as a result of extra consideration is paid to ladies’ our bodies and look.
Physique fats impacts sedentary exercise in boys
The researchers additionally examined the hyperlink between inactivity or a sedentary life-style and physique fats. In the identical approach that they objectively measured bodily exercise, in addition they measured how lengthy the members had been sedentary throughout the day.
“The outcomes present that boys who had a rise within the proportion of physique fats had a corresponding improve in sedentary exercise two years later. This carried by all of the age teams studied, from the age of 6 by age 14.
In different phrases, boys whose proportion of physique fats will increase develop into extra sedentary.
For the ladies, nevertheless, there was no hyperlink right here both. The share of physique fats didn’t have an effect on their stage of inactivity over time, and they didn’t develop into much less energetic by gaining extra physique fats.
“In sum, we discovered a hyperlink between bodily exercise, sedentary life-style, and fats share in boys, however not in ladies,” Steinsbekk says.
Trondheim Early Safe Research
The researchers used figures from the Trondheim Early Safe Research (TESS). They followed almost 1000 children at two-year intervals from when they were 4 years old. The participants are now 18 years old, and the eighth survey is underway.
In this study, the research group used data at five different times, when the participants were 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 years old. The Trondheim Early Secure Study has provided data for a number of studies on children’s development and health.
Enter your journal: Reference: “Relations between physical activity, sedentary time, and body fat from childhood to adolescence: Do they differ by sex?” by Tonje Zahl-Thanem, Lars Wichstrøm and Silje Steinsbekk, 3 June 2022, International Journal of Obesity.
DOI: 10.1038/s41366-022-01156-6
