Deng, P.; Ozaki, H.; Natsume, T.; Ishihara, Y.; Ke, D.; Suzuki, K.; Naito, H. Relationship between Skeletal Muscle Thickness and Physical Activity in 4- to 6-Year-Olds in Japan. Children2023, 10, 455.
Deng, P.; Ozaki, H.; Natsume, T.; Ishihara, Y.; Ke, D.; Suzuki, K.; Naito, H. Relationship between Skeletal Muscle Thickness and Physical Activity in 4- to 6-Year-Olds in Japan. Children 2023, 10, 455.
Deng, P.; Ozaki, H.; Natsume, T.; Ishihara, Y.; Ke, D.; Suzuki, K.; Naito, H. Relationship between Skeletal Muscle Thickness and Physical Activity in 4- to 6-Year-Olds in Japan. Children2023, 10, 455.
Deng, P.; Ozaki, H.; Natsume, T.; Ishihara, Y.; Ke, D.; Suzuki, K.; Naito, H. Relationship between Skeletal Muscle Thickness and Physical Activity in 4- to 6-Year-Olds in Japan. Children 2023, 10, 455.
Abstract
Purpose: Physical activity (PA) is likely the most important modifiable element for the growth of skeletal muscle. However, a detailed investigation of PA’s impact on preschoolers’ of skeletal muscle development is lacking.This study aimed to determine whether PA level is related to skeletal muscle thickness among preschool children. Methods: 275 healthy preschoolers between the ages 4–6 were instructed to wear an accelerometer for 4 consecutive days. The daily steps and minutes spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and total PA (TPA) were examined.Muscle thickness (MT) was measured by B-mode ultrasonography. The MT was measured at the anterior (AT) and posterior thigh (PT) and the anterior (AL) and posterior lower leg (PL). Results: Boys were more physically active and engaged in significantly more TPA and MVPA on weekdays compared with girls. Compared with that on the weekends, more physical activity, and significantly greater number of daily steps and higher TPA and MVPA were recorded for both boys and girls on the weekdays. Multivariable regression analyses, after adjusting for daylight duration, indicated that a daily increase in the TPA and MVPA would lead to higher muscle size in AT (β=1.11 and β=1.37, p<0.05), and PL (β=1.18 and β=0.94, p<0.05) among preschool children. Conclusions: The time spent involved in most of the different categories of MVPA was significantly higher for boys than for girls on the weekdays and weekends. MVPA was positively correlated with greater skeletal muscle development in the lower body.
Keywords
accelementer; muscle thickness; growth; development
Subject
MEDICINE & PHARMACOLOGY, Sport Sciences & Therapy
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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