Sustained participation in youth sport associated with reduced risk for developing metabolic syndrome in adulthood
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Sport during youth is one among a series of lifestyle interventions on a population basis aiming to reduce cardiovascular disease in adulthood associated with obesity and/or sedentary lifestyle. Longitudinal data from the cardiovascular risk in young Finns study was used to investigate the effect of organized youth sport on incident metabolic syndrome in adulthood. To this end, 1493 males and females aged 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 years were randomly selected from five university towns in 1980 and followed up for 21 years. Youth sport activities were recorded at baseline and 3 years later. Participants were divided into athletes and non-athletes, and then classified into four groups: Persistent athlete, Starter, Leaver and Non-athlete. Metabolic syndrome risk was defined as a categorical variable (EGIR guidelines) and as a continuous score variable by summing up the z-scores of individual metabolic variables. Intense participation in youth sports over 3 years was inversely and significantly associated with clustered metabolic syndrome score and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in adulthood. After adjusting for confounding factors, the association remained significant. Starters during 3 years were less likely to have metabolic syndrome than non-athletes, while leavers were at higher risk for metabolic syndrome than persistent athletes. In conclusion, sustained participation in organized sport lasting at least 3 years in youth is associated with reduced risk for developing metabolic syndrome in adulthood.
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