Associations of physical activity, sedentary time, and diet quality with biomarkers of inflammation in children

We investigated the associations of physical activity (PA), sedentary time (ST), and diet quality with biomarkers of inflammation in 390 children (192 girls, 198 boys) aged 6-8 years. PA energy expenditure (PAEE), light PA, moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), and ST were assessed by combined movement and heart rate sensor. Finnish Children Healthy Eating Index was calculated using data from 4 d food records. Body fat percentage (BF%) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP), leptin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), adiponectin, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, and glycoprotein acetyls were measured from fasting blood samples. PAEE, MPA, VPA, and MVPA were inversely associated with hs-CRP (beta=-191 to -139, 95% CI=-0.294 to -0.024), leptin (beta=-0.409 to -0.301, 95% CI=-0.499 to -0.107), IL-6 (beta=-0.136 to -0.104, 95% CI=-0.240 to -0.001) and PAEE, MPA, and MVPA were inversely associated with glycoprotein acetyls (beta=-0.117 to -0.103, 95% CI=-0.213 to -0.001). ST was directly associated with hs-CRP (beta=0.170, 95% CI=0.070-0.269), leptin (beta=0.355, 95% CI=0.265-0.445), and IL-6 (beta=0.105, 95% CI=0.005-0.205). VPA was inversely associated with hs-CRP, leptin, and IL-6 in children with higher BF% (beta=-0.344 to -0.181, 95% CI=-0.477 to -0.033) but not among children with lower BF% (beta=-0.007-0.033, 95% CI=-0.183-0.184). In conclusion, PA was inversely and ST directly associated with circulating levels of biomarkers of inflammation among children. Furthermore, we observed that PA was inversely associated with these biomarkers for inflammation in children with a higher BF%.