Cardiometabolic Biomarkers in Young Black Girls: Relations to Body Fatness and Aerobic Fitness, and Effects of a Randomized Physical Activity Trial

There is little evidence from randomized trials showing that physical activity alone influences biomarker profiles in youths. This study tested two hypotheses: (i) that elevated body fatness and poor fitness would be associated with unfavorable levels of cardiometabolic biomarkers in 8-12-y-old black girls (n = 242) and (ii) that a 10-mo PA intervention would have favorable effects on the fatness-related cardiometabolic biomarkers. At baseline, all fatness indices (i.e., percent body fat, visceral adipose tissue, BMI, and waist circumference) were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with unfavorable levels of insulin, glucose, systolic BP, diastolic BP, triglycerides, C-reactive protein (CRP), and fibrinogen. Aerobic fitness was significantly (P < 0.05) associated with favorable levels of insulin, CRP, fibrinogen, and HDL(2). The PA intervention had significant and favorable effects on fitness, fatness, and two biomarkers-resting heart rate and LDL cholesterol. More research is needed to clarify what types of interventions can enhance the cardiometabolic health of youths.