Critical Periods of Exercise

Early childhood (~3-7 years of age) is an important window for determining body composition trajectory and may be a critical period for the development of tissue partitioning patterns that influence obesity risk. As adiposity accelerates during this critical period, deposition/ preservation of fat stores may be sustained at the 'expense' of other tissues; i.e. energy homeostasis may be inherently biased toward fat gain. The type and amount of tissue mass accrued in early childhood has implications for metabolic profile, glucose/insulin homeostasis, hormone profile and resting energy expenditure.

The interplay between fat and bone deposition represents a physiologic trait enabling the body to choose between shuttling 'energy' towards accrual of a particular tissue. Plausibly the phenotype underlying obesity and diabetes risk may be determined by the differentiation of cell type (adipocyte, osteocyte, etc.) during this early stage of growth and development. In vitro studies demonstrate transdifferentiation under the influence of specific external stimuli, which can switch phenotypes toward other cell lineages. Further, rodent models have demonstrated that exposure to stimuli (exercise) early in life may prevent excess fat mass accrual in adulthood, even when the stimulus is later removed (animals are no longer exercising). Children's early experiences (engagement in physical activity vs. sedentary behavior) may 'environmentally induce' alterations in body composition and predispose individuals to obesity throughout life.

Aim 1. To examine the associations between body composition via DXA and objectively-measured physical activity/inactivity.

1. Hypothesis 1.1: There is a positive association between physical activity and bone mass.

2. Hypothesis 1.2: There is a positive association between sedentary behavior and total fat mass.

   Aim2. To examine the associations between adipose tissue distribution via MRI and objectively-measured physical activity/inactivity.

3. Hypothesis 2.1: There is an inverse association between physical activity and bone marrow adipose tissue.
4. Hypothesis 2.2: There is a positive association between sedentary behavior and bone marrow adipose tissue.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Metabolism
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Exercise

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Alabama
    • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35294
      • University of Alabama at Birmingham
    • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35210
      • Family Care Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 years to 7 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• children aged 3 to 7 years
• healthy, not under the care of a doctor
• not taking medications known to alter body composition or metabolism

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Exercise group; Children will participate in a 10-week moderate to vigorous exercise program	Behavioral: Exercise; Children will be exposed to a 10-week exercise intervention
No Intervention: non-exercising; Participants will receive no intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Association between exercise and bone marrow adipose tissue in children 3-7 years	10 weeks of exercise

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: December 1, 2009
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 30, 2009
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 31, 2009
• First Posted (Estimate): January 1, 2010

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 25, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 21, 2019
• Last Verified: November 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: exercise; bone mineral density; bone marrow adipose tissue; Children in the intervention condition will complete a supervised physical activity program 3 days/wk for 10 weeks; Control treatment will be provided no intervention; All participants will be instructed not to change their current dietary habits during the study period.
• Other Study ID Numbers: F090904001