The Differential Relationships Of Fitness And Body Composition With Mental Health In Preadolescent Children

Purpose: In children, there is an increasing prevalence of physical inactivity, concurrent with a rise in obesity and increases in anxiety and depression. However, the influence of body composition and fitness on mental health (anxiety and depression) in children is not well understood. This analysis examined the relation of adiposity and fitness with mental health. Methods: In 208 children (ages 8-11 yr.; 89 females), demographic measures (age, sex, mother’s education, pubertal timing) were considered with fitness and adiposity measures. Participants completed a fitness (VO2max) test and a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scan to quantify subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Validated self-report surveys assessed state- and trait anxiety and depression. Correlations determined the influence of demographics on mental health. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed with significant demographics in step 1 and fitness or adiposity measures in step 2. Results: Step 1 included sex in all models and pubertal timing in trait anxiety and depression. In Step 2, no significant effects were found for state anxiety. For trait anxiety, significant effects were found for VAT, ΔR2 = 0.04, F(3, 204) = 4.14, p < 0.01, with greater VAT associated with greater trait anxiety, β = 0.17, t(204) = 2.47, p < 0.05; and VO2max, ΔR2 = 0.05, F(3, 204) = 4.43, p < 0.01, with higher VO2max associated with lower trait anxiety, β = -0.19, t(204) = -2.64, p < 0.01. For CDI, significant effects were found for SAAT, ΔR2 = 0.06, F(3, 204) = 5.00, p < 0.01, with greater SAAT associated with greater depression, β = 0.16, t(204) = 2.26, p < 0.05; and VAT, ΔR2 = 0.07, F(3, 204) = 6.33, p < 0.001, with greater VAT associated with greater depression, β = 0.20, t(204) = 2.98, p < 0.01. VO2max was also significant, ΔR2 = 0.05, F(3, 204) = 4.93, p < 0.01, with greater VO2max associated with lower depression, β = -0.16, t(204) = -2.21, p < 0.05. Conclusions: These data suggest that depression and trait anxiety, but not state anxiety, are related to fitness and adiposity in children, providing insight into the divergent associations between fitness and body composition with mental health. This supports current public health incentives to decrease childhood obesity and increase physical activity to improve mental health and well-being. R01 HD094054-01 ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03592238