Affiliation:
1. Department of Medicine Karolinska Institutet Stockholm Sweden
2. Department of Neurobiology Care Sciences and Society Karolinska Institutet Huddinge Sweden
3. Department of Global Public Health Karolinska Institutet Stockholm Sweden
4. The Foundation A Healthy Generation Stockholm Sweden
5. Department of Medical Sciences Örebro University Örebro Sweden
6. Department of Physical Activity and Health The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences Stockholm Sweden
Abstract
AbstractAimTo study cross‐sectional relationships between step‐up height and waist circumference (WC), a potential proxy for sarcopenic obesity, in Swedish children and parents.MethodsParticipants were recruited from Swedish schools in disadvantaged areas in 2017. Height, body weight, WC and maximal step‐up height were measured in 67 eight‐year‐old children and parents: 58 mothers, with a mean age of 38.5 and 32 fathers, with a mean age of 41.3. Sedentary time and physical activity were registered by an accelerometer. Associations between maximal step‐up height and WC were analysed using Pearson's correlation and adjusted linear regression.ResultsAbdominal obesity, WC ≥ 66 centimetres (cm) in children, ≥88 cm in women and ≥102 cm in men, was observed in 13% and 35% of girls and boys, and in 53% and 34% among mothers and fathers, respectively. Negative associations between maximal step‐up height and WC were found for children (r = −0.37, p = 0.002) and adults (mothers r = −0.58, p < 0.001, fathers r = −0.48, p = 0.006). The associations remained after adjustments for height, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity in adults. Reduced muscle strength clustered within families (r = 0.54, p < 0.001).ConclusionAssociations between reduced muscle strength and abdominal obesity were observed in children and parents. Sarcopenic obesity may need more attention in children. Our findings support family interventions.