The association of obesity and physical fitness with inflammatory markers in children

Inflammatory markers are a group of novel risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This study evaluated the association of plasma fibrinogen and C-reactive protein, main markers of inflammation, with obesity and physical fitness in children 4 to 25 years old from The Columbia BioMarkers Study. The main findings of the study indicate that there is a relation between measures of obesity and levels of inflammatory markers consistent with a low-grade inflammatory state. In addition, the results showed an inverse association of physical fitness with acute phase reactants in children. Body mass index, sum of skinfolds, and waist/hip ratio were similar in boys and girls. Plasma fibrinogen was higher in girls compared to boys, but C-reactive protein level was similar in both groups. In addition, girls had lower levels of physical fitness and higher resting heart rate, compared to boys. This study also found a strong relation of body mass index with C-reactive protein level in boys and girls, which remained significant after adjustment for potential confounders. Furthermore, physical fitness was inversely associated with fibrinogen and C-reactive protein; these findings remained significant after adjustment for potential confounders. Resting heart rate was also associated with fibrinogen level but not with C-reactive protein. Separate analysis for boys and girls showed an inverse association of physical fitness with C-reactive protein in boys but not in girls.