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Psychological distress leads to reduced physical activity and fitness in children: the Australian longitudinal LOOK study

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Abstract

Stress and depression can affect an individual’s level of physical activity and fitness, which may place them at risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This study investigates the longitudinal effects of stress and depression on physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness among youth. Six hundred and seventy-six children, initially aged 8 years, from the LOOK study completed a modified version of the Children’s Depression Inventory, the Children’s Stress Questionnaire, and objective physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness assessments on three occasions, every 4 years. Depressive symptoms had a direct effect (longitudinal) on the cardiorespiratory fitness of girls, with a similar trend for boys. In cross-sectional analyses, a child who identified with more symptoms of depression and stress was likely to be less fit and less physically active, which in girls extended to less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Our findings, that both physical activity and fitness are impacted by depression and stress may contribute to strategies directed towards achieving enhanced physical activity and reductions in obesity.

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Acknowledgments

We extend our thanks to the children of the LOOK study for their efforts and ongoing participation. The authors would also like to acknowledge the ACT Department of Education and Training, school principals, teachers, office staff, and parents for their willing cooperation, and Professor Ross Cunningham for his statistical consultation. Support for this research was provided via a co-funded National Heart Foundation of Australia/NHMRC Scholarship [GNT1056551] awarded to Ms Olive, an Australian Research Council (Linkage) Grant to Professor Byrne, and from The Commonwealth Education Trust (New Zealand House, London, UK; (http://www.commonwealth.org.uk/) awarded to Professor Telford. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to L. S. Olive.

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L. S. Olive, R. M. Telford, D. G. Byrne, W. P. Abhayaratna and R. D. Telford declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and animal rights and Informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Olive, L.S., Telford, R.M., Byrne, D.G. et al. Psychological distress leads to reduced physical activity and fitness in children: the Australian longitudinal LOOK study. J Behav Med 39, 587–598 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-016-9723-0

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