Factors Contributing to the Development of Body Fat In Growing Boys and Girls

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents continues to rise\ud and is considered a major public health problem. The aim of this investigation was to\ud evaluate the contributions of sport participation, and calcium intake (controlling for mean\ud energy intake, sex, and maturation status) on the development of fat mass in children.\ud This is a secondary analysis from a longitudinal study that examined skeletal\ud development in children. 127 boys and 123 girls were included in the final analysis and\ud were evaluated annually over 5 + 2.2 y, with a baseline age of 8.5 + 1 y. Sport\ud participation, average energy intake (kcal/day), and calcium intake (mg/day) were\ud assessed by questionnaires. Years from peak height velocity (PHV) was calculated from\ud anthropometric measures. Body composition was measured by DXA. Analysis of covariance\ud was used to evaluate contributions. Calcium intake, energy intake, and sport\ud participation, values were averaged over the number of occasions participants had data.\ud We found that attainment of PHV marks a change in the trajectory of fat mass\ud development between genders. Children who participated in sport at all occasions were\ud 4% leaner than non-sport participants. Trends suggest that lower calcium and lower\ud energy intakes may play a role in fat mass development. Supported by NIH NIAMS\ud AR045655-09 and Oregon State University, College of Health and Human Sciences Pilot\ud Grant Program