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Aerobic fitness, body mass index, and CVD risk factors among adolescents: the Québec family study

International Journal of Obesity volume 29, pages 1077–1083 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this study was to examine the association of body mass index (BMI) and aerobic fitness on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in adolescents.

METHODS:

The sample included 416 boys and 345 girls 9–18 y of age from the Québec Family Study. Participants were cross-tabulated into four groups using a median split of age-adjusted physical working capacity (PWC) and body mass index (BMI). Group differences in age-adjusted CVD risk factors (blood pressures, fasting total cholesterol (CHOL), LDL -C, HDL-C, HDL/CHOL, triglycerides, glucose, and a composite risk factor score) were examined by two-way ANOVA.

RESULTS:

Several CVD risk factors showed significant main effects for PWC, BMI and/or the PWC by BMI interaction. In general, low fit males and females had higher blood lipids and glucose compared to their high fit counterparts within BMI categories although none of the differences reached statistical significance. The high fit/low BMI group showed the best CVD risk factor profile while the low fit/high BMI showed a poorer profile as evidenced by several significant differences between these two groups. Other significant differences occurred for various risk factors between groups.

CONCLUSION:

Both aerobic fitness and BMI show an independent association with CVD risk factors in adolescents.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario grant (#NA 4400) to Peter T Katzmarzyk. The Québec Family Study was supported over the years by the Fonds pour la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ), Fonds pour la formation de chercheurs et l’aide à la recherche du Québec (FCAR), Health Canada, and the Medical Research Council of Canada. It is currently supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Claude Bouchard is funded, in part, by the George A Bray Chair in Nutrition. Angelo Tremblay is funded in part by the Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Energy Balance. Jean-Pierre Després is chair Professor on Nutrition and Lipidology, supported by Parke-Davis/Warner Lambert and Provigo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Human Performance, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    J C Eisenmann

  2. School of Physical and Health Education and Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

    P T Katzmarzyk

  3. Lipid Research Centre, Laval University, Ste, Foy, Quebec, Canada

    L Perusse

  4. Division of Kinesiology, Laval University, Ste, Foy, Quebec, Canada

    A Tremblay

  5. Québec Heart Institute, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada

    J-P Després

  6. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    C Bouchard

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  1. J C Eisenmann
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Correspondence to J C Eisenmann.

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Eisenmann, J., Katzmarzyk, P., Perusse, L. et al. Aerobic fitness, body mass index, and CVD risk factors among adolescents: the Québec family study. Int J Obes 29, 1077–1083 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802995

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