PLoS ONE (Jan 2013)

Independent and combined effects of physical activity and sedentary behavior on blood pressure in adolescents: gender differences in two cross-sectional studies.

  • Augusto César Ferreira de Moraes,
  • Heráclito Barbosa Carvalho,
  • Juan Pablo Rey-López,
  • Luis Gracia-Marco,
  • Laurent Beghin,
  • Anthony Kafatos,
  • David Jiménez-Pavón,
  • Dénes Molnar,
  • Stefaan De Henauw,
  • Yannis Manios,
  • Kurt Widhalm,
  • Jonatan R Ruiz,
  • Francisco B Ortega,
  • Michael Sjöström,
  • Angela Polito,
  • Raquel Pedrero-Chamizo,
  • Ascensión Marcos,
  • Frederic Gottrand,
  • Luis A Moreno

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062006
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 5
p. e62006

Abstract

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ObjectivesTo examine the independent and combined association of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) on both systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in adolescents from two observational studies.MethodsParticipants from two cross-sectional studies, one conducted in Europe (n = 3,308; HELENA study) and the other in Brazil (n = 991; BRACAH study), were selected by complex sampling. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (outcomes), PA and SB, both independently and combined, and potential confounders were analyzed. Associations were examined by multilevel linear regression.ResultsPerforming the recommended amount of PA (≥ 60 min/d) attenuated the effect of SB on DBP in BRACAH study girls and in boys from both studies. In contrast, PA did not attenuate the effects of SB on the SBP of girls in the HELENA study. The combination of less than recommended levels of PA with 2-4 h/d of sedentary behavior was found to be associated with increased SBP in boys from both studies.ConclusionsMeeting current PA recommendations could mediate the association between SB and DBP in both sexes. In boys, the joint effect of low levels of PA and excessive sedentary activity increases SBP levels. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm these findings.