ArticleChildren (Basel, Switzerland)2026
Body Composition Changes and Their Associations with Physical Activity and Screen Time in a Sample of Italian Early Adolescents over a 3-Year Period.
Article in Children (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Enzyme-Specific Redox Stability and Plasticity in Trained Youth Athletes: Longitudinal Analysis of SOD and GPX.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Integrating Biological Maturity into Fitness Assessment and Physical Activity Interventions in Children and Adolescents: A Narrative Review.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundA sedentary lifestyle contributes to chronic disease risk in adults and may predict unfavourable body composition in adolescents. Declining physical activity and rising sedentary behaviour are linked to increasing global obesity rates. Given the scarcity of longitudinal studies examining how participation in organized sports and screen device use relate to body composition in early adolescence, this study aims to address this gap by analyzing temporal trends in both sexes.
methodsA sample of 158 Italian students, 38% of whom were female, was followed longitudinally from ages 11 to 13. Annual anthropometric assessments were conducted, and self-reported data on screen time and organised sports participation were collected. Fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), fat mass index (FMI), fat-free mass index (FFMI), body mass index (BMI), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were subsequently calculated, along with annual increments. Repeated-measures ANOVA assessed age and sex effects, while multiple regression models evaluated associations between behavioural variables or sex and body composition indices.
resultsSignificant differences in %F, FM, FFM and its increment, WHtR and its increment, FMI, and FFMI (all
conclusionsSporting during early adolescence seems to have positive effects on body composition changes, while sex-specific patterns warrant further attention. A deeper understanding of how early adolescent lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and sedentary behaviour, shape body composition is essential for promoting long-term health.
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