Speed, agility, and musculoskeletal fitness are independently associated with areal bone mineral density in children
Metadata
Show full item recordEditorial
Frontiers
Materia
Physical fitness Bone tissue Physical conditioning School Child
Date
2023-02-13Referencia bibliográfica
Mello JB... [et al.] (2023), Speed, agility, and musculoskeletal fitness are independently associated with areal bone mineral density in children. Front. Physiol. 14:1080091. doi: [10.3389/fphys.2023.1080091]
Sponsorship
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ) 401969/2016-9 ARGAbstract
Background: There is still little understanding of the associations between physical
fitness variables and bone health in children taking into account key confounders.
Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between performance in
tests of speed, agility, and musculoskeletal fitness (power of the upper and lower
limbs) with bone mass of different regions in children, considering the adjustment to
maturity-offset, lean percentage, and sex.
Methods: Cross-sectional study design: the sample consisted of 160 children aged
6–11 years. The physical fitness variables tested were 1) speed, assessed with the
running test at a maximum speed of 20 m; 2) agility, assessed through the 4×4-m
square test; 3) lower limb power, assessed using the standing long jump test, and 4)
upper limb power, assessed using the 2-kg medicine ball throw test. Areal bone
mineral density (aBMD) was obtained from the analysis of body composition by dualenergy
X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Simple and multiple linear regression models
were performed using the SPSS software.
Results: In the crude regression analyses, the results indicated a linear relationship
between all the physical fitness variables and aBMD in all body segments, but
maturity-offset, sex, and lean mass percentage seemed to have an effect on
these relationships. Except for the upper limb power, the other physical
capacities (speed, agility, and lower limb power) were associated with aBMD in at
least three body regions in the adjusted analyses. These associations occurred in the
spine, hip, and leg regions, and the aBMD of the legs presented the best association
magnitude (R2).
Conclusion: There is a significant association between speed, agility, and
musculoskeletal fitness, specifically the lower limb power and aBMD. That is, the
aBMD is a good indicator of the relationship between fitness and bone mass in
children, but it is essential to consider specific fitness variables and skeletal regions.