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Associations between fitness, physical activity and mental health in a community sample of young British adolescents: baseline data from the Fit to Study trial.

ABSTRACT: Objectives:To examine relationships between fitness, physical activity and psychosocial problems among English secondary school pupils and to explore how components of physically active lifestyles are associated with mental health and well-being. Methods:A total of 7385 participants aged 11-13 took a fitness test and completed self-reported measures of physical activity, attitudes to activity, psychosocial problems and self-esteem during the Fit to Study trial. Multilevel regression, which modelled school-level cluster effects, estimated relationships between activity, fitness and psychosocial problems; canonical correlation analysis (CCA) explored modes of covariation between active lifestyle and mental health variables. Models were adjusted for covariates of sex, free school meal status, age, and time and location of assessments. Results:Higher fitness was linked with fewer internalising problems (?=-0.23; 95% CI -0.26 to -0.21; p<0.001). More activity was also related to fewer internalising symptoms (?=-0.24; 95% CI -0.27 to -0.20; p<0.001); the relationship between activity and internalising problems was significantly stronger for boys than for girls. Fitness and activity were also favourably related to externalising symptoms, with smaller effect sizes. One significant CCA mode, with a canonical correlation of 0.52 (p=0.001), was characterised high cross-loadings for positive attitudes to activity (0.46) and habitual activity (0.42) among lifestyle variables; and for physical and global self-esteem (0.47 and 0.42) among mental health variables. Conclusion:Model-based and data-driven analysis methods indicate fitness as well as physical activity are linked to adolescent mental health. If effect direction is established, fitness monitoring could complement physical activity measurement when tracking public health.

SUBMITTER: Wheatley C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7547542 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Associations between fitness, physical activity and mental health in a community sample of young British adolescents: baseline data from the Fit to Study trial.

Wheatley Catherine C Wassenaar Thomas T Salvan Piergiorgio P Beale Nick N Nichols Thomas T Dawes Helen H Johansen-Berg Heidi H

BMJ open sport & exercise medicine 20201002 1

<h4>Objectives</h4>To examine relationships between fitness, physical activity and psychosocial problems among English secondary school pupils and to explore how components of physically active lifestyles are associated with mental health and well-being.<h4>Methods</h4>A total of 7385 participants aged 11-13 took a fitness test and completed self-reported measures of physical activity, attitudes to activity, psychosocial problems and self-esteem during the Fit to Study trial. Multilevel regressi ...[more]

PMID: 33088584

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Project description:BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) may positively stimulate the brain, cognition and mental health during adolescence, a period of dynamic neurobiological development. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or vigorous PA interventions are time-efficient, scalable and can be easily implemented in existing school curricula, yet their effects on cognitive, academic and mental health outcomes are unclear. The primary aim of the Fit to Study trial was to investigate whether a pragmatic and scalable HIIT-style VPA intervention delivered during school physical education (PE) could improve attainment in maths. The primary outcome has previously been reported and was null. Here, we report the effect of the intervention on prespecified secondary outcomes, including cardiorespiratory fitness, cognitive performance, and mental health in young adolescents.MethodsThe Fit to Study cluster randomised controlled trial included Year 8 pupils (n = 18,261, aged 12-13) from 104 secondary state schools in South/Mid-England. Schools were randomised into an intervention condition (n = 52), in which PE teachers delivered an additional 10 min of VPA per PE lesson for one academic year (2017-2018), or into a "PE as usual" control condition. Secondary outcomes included assessments of cardiorespiratory fitness (20-m shuttle run), cognitive performance (executive functions, relational memory and processing speed) and mental health (Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire and self-esteem measures). The primary intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis used linear models and structural equation models with cluster-robust standard errors to test for intervention effects. A complier-average causal effect (CACE) was estimated using a two-stage least squares procedure.ResultsThe HIIT-style VPA intervention did not significantly improve cardiorespiratory fitness, cognitive performance (executive functions, relational memory or processed speed), or mental health (all p > 0.05). Subgroup analyses showed no significant moderation of intervention effects by sex, socioeconomic status or baseline fitness levels. Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness were not significantly related to changes in cognitive or mental health outcomes. The trial was marked by high drop-out and low intervention compliance. Findings from the CACE analysis were in line with those from the ITT analysis.ConclusionThe one-academic year HIIT-style VPA intervention delivered during regular school PE did not significantly improve fitness, cognitive performance or mental health, but these findings should be interpreted with caution given low implementation fidelity and high drop-out. Well-controlled, large-scale, school-based trials that examine the effectiveness of HIIT-style interventions to enhance cognitive and mental health outcomes are warranted.Trial registrationISRCTN registry, 15,730,512 . Trial protocol and analysis plan for primary outcome prospectively registered on 30th March 2017. ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03286725 . Secondary measures (focus of current manuscript) retrospectively registered on 18 September 2017.

Project description:A comprehensive analysis of associations between physical fitness and brain structure in young adulthood is lacking, and further, it is unclear the degree to which associations between physical fitness and brain health can be attributed to a common genetic pathway or to environmental factors that jointly influences physical fitness and brain health. This study examined genotype-confirmed monozygotic and dizygotic twins, along with non-twin full-siblings to estimate the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to variation within, and covariation between, physical fitness and brain structure. Participants were 1,065 young adults between the ages of 22 and 36 from open-access Young Adult Human Connectome Project (YA-HCP). Physical fitness was assessed by submaximal endurance (2-min walk test), grip strength, and body mass index. Brain structure was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging on a Siemens 3T customized 'Connectome Skyra' at Washington University in St. Louis, using a 32-channel Siemens head coil. Acquired T1-weighted images provided measures of cortical surface area and thickness, and subcortical volume following processing by the YA-HCP structural FreeSurfer pipeline. Diffusion weighted imaging was acquired to assess white matter tract integrity, as measured by fractional anisotropy, following processing by the YA-HCP diffusion pipeline and tensor fit. Following correction for multiple testing, body mass index was negatively associated with fractional anisotropy in various white matter regions of interest (all | z| statistics > 3.9) and positively associated with cortical thickness within the right superior parietal lobe (z statistic = 4.6). Performance-based measures of fitness (i.e., endurance and grip strength) were not associated with any structural neuroimaging markers. Behavioral genetic analysis suggested that heritability of white matter integrity varied by region, but consistently explained >50% of the phenotypic variation. Heritability of right superior parietal thickness was large (∼75% variation). Heritability of body mass index was also fairly large (∼60% variation). Generally, 12 to 23 of the correlation between brain structure and body mass index could be attributed to heritability effects. Overall, this study suggests that greater body mass index is associated with lower white matter integrity, which may be due to common genetic effects that impact body composition and white matter integrity.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Studies indicate that health-related components of physical fitness are associated with mental health outcomes. However, research is scarce concerning this relationship in young adolescents in general and non-existent in Norwegian populations specifically. The aim of the study was to examine whether body composition, muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with self-reported mental health in Norwegian adolescents. METHODS:Adolescents from four regions of Norway (n?=?1486; mean age?=?13.9; girls?=?50.6%) participated. Self-reported mental health (psychological difficulties) was measured by completing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed with an intermittent running test; muscular strength was assessed by measuring handgrip strength, standing broad jump and sit-ups; and body composition was assessed by calculating body mass index from weight and height. Linear mixed effects models were conducted to assess the associations between the health-related components of physical fitness and psychological difficulties. School clusters were included as random effects and all models were controlled for sex, socioeconomic status and birthplace (domestic or foreign). RESULTS:Body composition was not associated with psychological difficulties. Muscular strength was independently associated with psychological difficulties, but when all independent variables were entered in the fully adjusted model, only cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with psychological difficulties. CONCLUSIONS:There was a small but significant inverse association between cardiorespiratory fitness and levels of psychological difficulties in Norwegian adolescents. The results suggest that muscular strength is not associated with psychological difficulties in adolescents, when controlling for cardiorespiratory fitness. Future research should focus on the prospective association between physical fitness components and mental health outcomes in adolescents. TRIAL REGISTRATION:The study is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov ID nr: NCT03817047. Retrospectively registered January 25, 2019.

Project description:PurposeThis study was aimed to analyze the associations of objectively measured physical activity (PA), sedentary time, and physical fitness with mental health in the early second trimester (16 ± 2 gestational weeks) of pregnancy.MethodsFrom 229 women initially contacted, 124 pregnant women participated in the present cross-sectional study. Data were collected between November 2015 and March 2017. The participants wore Actigraph GT3X+ Triaxial accelerometers for 9 consecutive days to objectively measure their PA levels and sedentary time. A performance-based test battery was used to measure physical fitness. Self-report questionnaires assessed psychological ill-being (i.e., negative affect, anxiety, and depression), and psychological well-being (i.e., emotional intelligence, resilience, and positive affect). Linear regression analyses were adjusted for age, educational level, accelerometer wear time, miscarriages, and low back pain.ResultsModerate-to-vigorous PA was negatively associated with depression (β = -0.222, adjusted R2 = 0.050, p = 0.041). Higher levels of sedentary time were negatively associated with positive affect (β = -0.260, adjusted R2 = 0.085, p = 0.017). Greater upper-body flexibility was positively associated with better emotional regulation (β = 0.195, adjusted R2= 0.030, p = 0.047). The remaining associations were not significant (all p > 0.05).ConclusionAn active lifestyle characterized by higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous PA and lower levels of sedentary time during pregnancy might modestly improve the mental health of pregnant women. Although previous research has focused on the benefits of cardiorespiratory exercise, the present study shows that only upper-body flexibility is related to emotional regulation in early pregnant women. If the present findings are corroborated in further experimental research, physical exercise programs should focus on enhancing flexibility to promote improvements in emotional regulation during early second-trimester of pregnancy.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:Knowledge of how physical activity (PA) and sport participation are related to mental health throughout adolescence is scarce. Our objective was to describe PA levels and sport participation in a population-based sample of adolescents, and to explore how they relate to mental health in different age groups. DESIGN:A population-based cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS:The adolescent part of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, a Norwegian population-based health survey, conducted from 2006 to 2008. Of 10 464 invited participants (age 13-19 years), 7619 (73%) participated, of whom 3785 (50%) were boys. OUTCOME MEASURES:Mental health outcomes included psychological distress assessed using a short version of the Hopkins Symptom Check List Five items, self-esteem assessed using a short version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and life satisfaction assessed with a single-item satisfaction with life measure. METHOD:Logistic regression models were used to estimate the likelihood of psychological distress, low self-esteem and low life satisfaction, according to self-reported PA level and type of sport participation, stratified by gender and school level (junior vs senior high school). RESULTS:Fewer senior high school students participated in team sports compared with junior high school students (p<0.001). Physically active adolescents and participants in team sports had higher self-esteem and life satisfaction. A high PA level, compared with a low PA level, was associated with reduced odds of psychological distress among senior high school students (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.86 for girls and OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.79 for boys). Team sport participation was associated with reduced odds of psychological distress in senior high school girls. CONCLUSION:A high PA level was favourably associated with various dimensions of mental health, especially for adolescents in senior high school. Team sport participation may have a positive impact on mental health and should, therefore, be encouraged.

Dataset Information

Associations between fitness, physical activity and mental health in a community sample of young British adolescents: baseline data from the Fit to Study trial.

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Associations between fitness, physical activity and mental health in a community sample of young British adolescents: baseline data from the Fit to Study trial.

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