Lifestyle, Adiposity, and Cardiovascular Health in Youth

Adult studies have shown that adiposity, especially visceral adipose tissue, and cardiovascular (CV) fitness are key links between lifestyle factors like diet and exercise on one hand, and CV disease on the other. However, very little is known about these links during the juvenile years, when the processes leading to CV disease are at an early stage of development. The specific aims are as follow: (1) to determine the relations of free-living diet and exercise to total body percent fat ( percent BF), visceral adipose tissue and CV fitness in black and white boys and girls of varying socioeconomic status. (2) to determine the relations of fatness and fitness to different CV risk factors. Design and methods: (1) Recruit 800 14 to 18 year olds, 200 in each ethnicity and gender subgroup. (2) Assess diet with seven 24-hour recalls, and exercise with two seven-day recalls and Actigraph monitors. (3) Measure percent body fat with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, visceral adipose tissue with magnetic resonance imaging and CV fitness with a multi-stage treadmill test. (4) Measure major fatness- and fitness-related CV disease risk factors (e.g., total cholesterol:HDL cholesterol ratio, insulin, systolic blood pressure, left ventricular mass indexed to height, fibrinogen). (5) Conduct multivariate and univariate analyses to determine relationships. Health relatedness: The provided by this project will assist in the formulation of effective lifestyle interventions targeted to specific demographic groups for primary prevention of CV disease, starting early in life when the foundations for adult disease are being laid.