ArticleBMC pediatrics2021
Adolescent physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep in relation to body composition at age 18 years in urban South Africa, Birth-to-Twenty+ Cohort.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations between number of steps and health outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Associations among Active Commuting to School and Prevalence of Obesity in Adolescents: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Sleep deprivation and memory: A neurobiological perspective.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Patterns, determinants and associated outcomes with adolescent sleep health in Africa: A scoping review.PloS one · 2026Article
- Dietary intake and quality for young adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa: Status and influencing factors.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Associations of Academic Study- and Non-Study-Related Sedentary Behaviors with Incident Obesity in Children and Adolescents.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Adolescent sedentary behavior and body composition in early adulthood: results from a cohort study.Pediatric research · 2023Article
- Factors Influencing Saudi Youth Physical Activity Participation: A Qualitative Study Based on the Social Ecological Model.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Twenty-four-hour movement guidelines during adolescence and its association with obesity at adulthood: results from a nationally representative study.European journal of pediatrics · 2023Article
- Twenty-four-hour movement guidelines during middle adolescence and their association with glucose outcomes and type 2 diabetes mellitus in adulthood.Journal of sport and health science · 2023Article
- Association of Perceived Neighbourhood Walkability with Self-Reported Physical Activity and Body Mass Index in South African Adolescents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Adolescent Obesity Modeling: A Framework of Socio-Economic Analysis on Public Health.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAdolescence is marked by a decline in physical activity, rapid physical growth and changes in body composition, which have been linked to body composition. Prospective data on these associations are rare, particularly in Africa.
aimThe aim of this study was to examine the association of longitudinal patterns across adolescent in physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep, with anthropometry and body composition at age 18 years in urban South Africa.
methodsWe analyzed data from the Birth-to-Twenty Plus Cohort (Bt20+), a longitudinal study of children born in 1990 in Soweto-Johannesburg, South Africa. We used general linear models to investigate the association of adolescent (ages 12 to 18 years) longitudinal trends in physical activity, sedentary behavior and schoolnight sleep and overall physical activity patterns, with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fat mass index (FMI), lean mass index (LMI) and percent body fat at age 18 years.
resultsThe final study sample included 1337 participants with anthropometric measurements (52% female) and 958 participants with body composition measurements (53% female). Males who were consistently more active and consistently walked to school over adolescence had lower waist circumference (B = - 2.0, 95% CI: - 3.9 to - 0.2), FMI (B = - 0.8, 95%: CI: - 1.2 to - 0.1) and percent body fat (B = -2.9, 95% CI: - 4.9 to - 0.9) at age 18 years than those who decreased activity and did not walk to school. Consistently-sedentary females had higher waist circumference than those whose sedentary behavior increased over adolescence (B = 5.4, 95% CI: 0.2 to 10.6). Males who reported sleeping 9 h or more per night on schoolnights had significantly lower BMI (B = -1.0, 95% CI: - 1.4 to- 0.5), and percent body fat (B = -1.5, 95%CI - 2.8 to - 0.1) than those who reported sleeping 8 h or less per night.
conclusionPatterns of adolescent physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep are related to young-adult body composition in urban South Africa. These modifiable behaviors may be paths for public health interventions to curb overweight and obesity in many low- or middle-income countries.
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