Behavioral variables and development of a central pattern of body fat from adolescence into adulthood in normal-weight whites: the Amsterdam Growth and Health Study

Associations were investigated between the amount of physical activity, energy and macronutrient intake, smoking behavior, alcohol intake, and a central pattern of body fat (subscapular skinfold thickness and waist circumference) measured six times between the mean ages of 13 and 27 y in a healthy white population. Subjects (84 males, 98 females) were participants in the longitudinal Amsterdam Growth and Health Study. In longitudinal analyses, alcohol intake was positively associated with the subscapular skinfold thickness (beta = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.16) in males. In females, the subscapular skinfold thickness was negatively associated with physical activity (beta = -0.10. 95% CI: -0.15, -0.05) and, unexpectedly, energy intake (beta = -0.25, 95% CI: -0.31,-0.19), whereas a positive association was found with carbohydrate intake (beta = 0.09. 95% CI: 0.02, 0.16). In both sexes, the mean value of behavioral variables, obtained from the mean value in adolescence and the values obtained at 21 and 27 y of age was not significantly associated with the subscapular skinfold thickness or waist circumference at the mean age of 27 y, except for a small positive association between physical activity and the subscapular skinfold thickness in males (R2 = 2.3%).