Vigorous physical activity rather than sedentary behaviour predicts overweight and obesity in pubertal boys: A 2-year follow-up study

Aim: Current physical activity (PA) recommendations indicate that children should get involved in 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), and should include vigorous-intensity PA at least three days a week. However, it is not known how many minutes of vigorous PA they should do. Using objective methods and a longitudinal design, this study aimed to examine how different PA intensities and sedentary behaviour relate with the risk of being overweight and obese during puberty over a two-year period. Methods: A sample of 136 10–12-year-old (at baseline) boys participated. PA was measured by seven-day accelerometry. Results: From MVPA thresholds, only 90 minutes per day of MVPA had important odds ratios (OR) for being overweight at baseline (OR=8.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–64.04). A significant cut-off point for being overweight was indicated by 59 minutes per day of MVPA with at least 14 minutes per day of vigorous PA, and 55 minutes per day MVPA with at least 10 minutes per day of vigorous PA for those who were obese. Sedentary behaviour did not have any significant ORs for being overweight or obese. Subjects who did not meet the thresholds of 5 and 20 minutes per day of vigorous PA at baseline had an increased risk of being overweight (OR=4.05, 95% CI 1.41–11.59, and OR=4.14, 95% CI 1.35–12.73, respectively) and obese (OR=6.54, 95% CI 1.97–21.69, and OR=8.75, 95% CI 1.12–68.51, respectively) two years later. Conclusions: The results indicate that vigorous PA in particular predicts overweight and obesity in boys. They should aim to do at least 60 minutes per day of MVPA. These results contribute to the recommendations suggesting that a minimum of 15 minutes per day of vigorous PA is desired to reduce the risk of developing overweight/obesity in later puberty.