Metabolic Syndrome Components and Physical Activity, Cardiovascular Fitness, and Sedentary Behavior (2008)

Undergraduate: Diane Blahut

Faculty Advisor: Robert McMurray
Department: Exercise & Sport Science

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Background. The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of risk factors that is believed to put individuals at the highest risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) (Reaven, 1996). About 6% of American adolescents have MetS and are therefore at higher risk for developing CVD in adulthood (Duncan et al., 2004). Some studies indicate that physical activity, cardiovascular fitness (CVF), and sedentary behavior may reduce the risk of developing MetS, but the literature is inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between MetS and CVF, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. Methods. The study used adolescents (n=389) from the Cardiovascular Health in Children studies. All had complete data for MetS components (blood pressure, lipids, glucose, and overweight), CVF (ml/kgFFM/min), physical activity, and sedentary behavior. The subjects were grouped based on the number of MetS components. ANOVAs and post-hoc t-tests were run on all variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine which variables were the strongest predictors of MetS. Results. Cardiovascular fitness, physical activity, and sedentary behavior were not related to the number of MetS components (p>0.05). Cardiovascular fitness (ml/kg/min) was significantly related to the number of MetS components (p<0.05). Overweight was the strongest predictor of MetS presence (R2~0.15-0.19). Conclusions. Losing weight seems to be the best way to reduce the risk of developing MetS.