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ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION |
1 From the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom (KLR, WAC, and SAJ); the Northern Ireland Centre for Diet and Health, University of Ulster, Coleraine, United Kingdom (MBEL, AM, and KLR); the Medical Research Council Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom (JCKW); and the Medical Research Council International Nutrition Group, Nutrition and Public Health Intervention Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom (AMP)
Background: Physical inactivity increases the risk of obesity, but the relations between reported levels of physical activity (PA) and measures of body fatness (BF) in children are remarkably inconsistent.
Objective: We examined the relation between objective measures of PA and body-composition indexes in nonobese children.
Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 100 children aged 6–8 y who were recruited according to their risk of future obesity: high-risk children had 
1 obese parent [body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2): >30] and low-risk children had 2 nonobese biological parents (BMI: <30). Free-living activity energy expenditure (AEE) and PA level were calculated from 7-d doubly labeled water measurements, time spent in light-intensity activity was assessed by heart rate monitoring, and body composition was determined from isotopic dilution. To adjust for body size, fat mass and fat-free mass were normalized for height and expressed as fat mass index (FMI) and lean mass index (LMI), respectively.
Results: High-risk children had significantly higher BMI, LMI, and FMI than did low-risk children, but no group differences in PA were found. AEE and PA level were positively associated with LMI and, after adjustment for sex and fat-free mass, negatively associated with FMI but not with BMI. Boys who spent more than the median time in light-intensity activities had significantly higher FMI than did less sedentary boys. This difference was not observed in girls.
Conclusions: AEE and PA level were negatively associated with BF in nonobese children. Accurate measures of body composition are essential to appropriate assessment of relations between PA and obesity risk.
Key Words: Children • physical activity • energy expenditure • body composition • obesity
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