Sedentary behavior moderates the relationship between physical activity and cardiometabolic risk in young Latino children.

This study investigated the role of objectively measured moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior on cardiometabolic risk factors of young Latino children. We hypothesized that MVPA would be associated with lower cardiometabolic risk when sedentary behavior is low. We studied 86 primarily low-income, Latino children using a cross-sectional study design. The study sample consisted of 51 girls and 35 boys, with mean age 5.6 (SD = .53) years. Physical activity was measured by accelerometry, anthropometric measures obtained, and fasting blood samples were used to measure cardiometabolic risk factors. Greater levels of sedentary behavior were associated with increased waist circumference (rs = .24, p < .05) and metabolic risks. MVPA, however, had significant beneficial associations with all cardiometabolic risk factors (rs-range = -.20 to -.45, p < .05) with the exception of plasma insulin. MVPA predicted latent variables representing anthropometric risk (β = -.57, p < .01), cardiac risk (β = -.74, p < .01), and metabolic risk (β = -.88, p < .01). Sedentary behavior significantly moderated the effect of MVPA on anthropometric (β-interaction = .49, p < .01), cardiac (β-interaction = .45, p < .01), and metabolic risk (β-interaction = .77, p < .01), such that more MVPA was associated with better health outcomes under conditions of lower sedentary behavior. The model explained 13%, 22%, and 45% variance in anthropometric, cardiac, and metabolic risk factors, respectively. Increased MVPA is associated with decreased cardiometabolic risk in young Latino children, particularly when sedentary behavior is low. © Society of Behavioral Medicine 2021. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.