Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-8zxtt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T21:04:17.276Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Relationship between physical activity and physical performance in later life in different birth weight groups

Part of: Advancing the DOHaD Agenda in Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2017

H. Jantunen ,
N. S. Wasenius ,
M. K. Salonen ,
M.-M. Perälä ,
H. Kautiainen ,
M. Simonen Open the ORCID record for M. Simonen [Opens in a new window] ,
P. Pohjolainen ,
E. Kajantie ,
M. B. von Bonsdorff  and
J. G. Eriksson
H. Jantunen*
Affiliation:
Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland Department of General Practice and Primary HealthCare, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Centre of Expertise for Health and Work Ability, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
N. S. Wasenius
Affiliation:
Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland Department of General Practice and Primary HealthCare, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
M. K. Salonen
Affiliation:
Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
M.-M. Perälä
Affiliation:
Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
H. Kautiainen
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice and Primary HealthCare, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
M. Simonen
Affiliation:
Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
P. Pohjolainen
Affiliation:
Age Institute, Helsinki, Finland
E. Kajantie
Affiliation:
Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland Children’s Hospital, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland PEDEGO Research Unit, MRC Oulu, Oulu University Hospital, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
M. B. von Bonsdorff
Affiliation:
Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland Gerontology Research Center and Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
J. G. Eriksson
Affiliation:
Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland Department of General Practice and Primary HealthCare, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
*
*Address for correspondence: H. Jantunen, Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland. (Email hjantunen@gmail.com)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There is strong evidence that physical activity (PA) has an influence on physical performance in later life. Also, a small body size at birth has been associated with lower physical functioning in older age and both small and high birth weight have shown to be associated with lower leisure time physical activity. However, it is unknown whether size at birth modulates the association between PA and physical performance in old age. We examined 695 individuals from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study born in Helsinki, Finland between 1934 and 1944. At a mean age of 70.7 years PA was objectively assessed with a multisensory activity monitor and physical performance with the Senior Fitness Test (SFT). Information on birth weight and gestational age was retrieved from hospital birth records. The study participants were divided in three birth weight groups, that is <3000 g, 3000–3499 g and ⩾3500 g. The volume of PA was significantly associated with the physical performance in all birth weight groups. However, the effect size of the association was large and significant only in men with a birth weight <3000 g (β 0.59; 95% confidence interval 0.37–0.81, P<0.001). Our study shows that the association between PA and physical performance is largest in men with low birth weight. Our results suggest that men with low birth weight might benefit most from engaging in PA in order to maintain a better physical performance.

Keywords

agingbirth weightphysical activityphysical performance
Type
Original Article
Information
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 9 , Issue 1: Themed Issue: DOHaD AFRICA , February 2018 , pp. 95 - 101
Check for updates
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Barker, DJ. Adult consequences of fetal growth restriction. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2006; 49, 270–283.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2. Eriksson, JG, Osmond, C, Kajantie, E, Forsen, TJ, Barker, DJ. Patterns of growth among children who later develop type 2 diabetes or its risk factors. Diabetologia. 2006; 49, 2853–2858.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3. Barker, DJ, Hales, CN, Fall, CH, et al. Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia (syndrome X): relation to reduced fetal growth. Diabetologia. 1993; 36, 62–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4. Barker, DJ, Osmond, C, Forsen, TJ, Kajantie, E, Eriksson, JG. Trajectories of growth among children who have coronary events as adults. N Engl J Med. 2005; 353, 1802–1809.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5. Barker, DJ, Osmond, C, Golding, J, Kuh, D, Wadsworth, ME. Growth in utero, blood pressure in childhood and adult life, and mortality from cardiovascular disease. BMJ. 1989; 298, 564–567.Google Scholar
6. Risnes, KR, Vatten, LJ, Baker, JL, et al. Birth weight and mortality in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Epidemiol. 2011; 40, 647–661.Google Scholar
7. Baker, JL, Olsen, LW, Sorensen, TI. Weight at birth and all-cause mortality in adulthood. Epidemiology. 2008; 19, 197–203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8. Jensen, CB, Storgaard, H, Madsbad, S, Richter, EA, Vaag, AA. Altered skeletal muscle fiber composition and size precede whole-body insulin resistance in young men with low birth weight. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007; 92, 1530–1534.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Dodds, R, Denison, HJ, Ntani, G, et al. Birth weight and muscle strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Nutr Health Aging. 2012; 16, 609–615.Google Scholar
10. Sayer, AA, Syddall, HE, Gilbody, HJ, Dennison, EM, Cooper, C. Does sarcopenia originate in early life? Findings from the Hertfordshire cohort study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2004; 59, M930–M934.Google Scholar
11. Yliharsila, H, Kajantie, E, Osmond, C, et al. Birth size, adult body composition and muscle strength in later life. Int J Obes (Lond). 2007; 31, 1392–1399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12. Rantanen, T, Guralnik, JM, Foley, D, et al. Midlife hand grip strength as a predictor of old age disability. JAMA. 1999; 281, 558–560.Google Scholar
13. von Bonsdorff, MB, Rantanen, T, Sipila, S, et al. Birth size and childhood growth as determinants of physical functioning in older age: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2011; 174, 1336–1344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14. Kuh, D, Hardy, R, Butterworth, S, et al. Developmental origins of midlife physical performance: evidence from a British birth cohort. Am J Epidemiol. 2006; 164, 110–121.Google Scholar
15. Martin, HJ, Syddall, HE, Dennison, EM, Cooper, C, Sayer, AA. Physical performance and physical activity in older people: are developmental influences important? Gerontology. 2009; 55, 186–193.Google Scholar
16. Elhakeem, A, Cooper, R, Bann, D, Kuh, D, Hardy, R. Birth weight, school sports ability, and adulthood leisure-time physical activity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2017; 49, 64–70.Google Scholar
17. Andersen, LG, Angquist, L, Gamborg, M, et al. Birth weight in relation to leisure time physical activity in adolescence and adulthood: meta-analysis of results from 13 Nordic Cohorts. PLoS One. 2009; 4, e8192.Google Scholar
18. Pinto Pereira, SM, Li, L, Power, C. Early-life predictors of leisure-time physical inactivity in midadulthood: findings from a prospective British birth cohort. Am J Epidemiol. 2014; 180, 1098–1108.Google Scholar
19. Ridgway, CL, Brage, S, Sharp, SJ, et al. Does birth weight influence physical activity in youth? A combined analysis of four studies using objectively measured physical activity. PLoS One. 2011; 6, e16125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20. Fried, LP, Guralnik, JM. Disability in older adults: evidence regarding significance, etiology, and risk. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997; 45, 92–100.Google Scholar
21. Paterson, DH, Warburton, DE. Physical activity and functional limitations in older adults: a systematic review related to Canada’s Physical Activity Guidelines. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2010; 7, 38.Google Scholar
22. Lee, IM, Shiroma, EJ, Lobelo, F, et al. Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy. Lancet. 2012; 380, 219–229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23. Vaughan, L, Leng, X, La Monte, MJ, et al. Functional independence in late-life: maintaining physical functioning in older adulthood predicts daily life function after age 80. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2016; 71(Suppl. 1), S79–S86.Google Scholar
24. Jantunen, H, Wasenius, N, Salonen, MK, et al. Objectively measured physical activity and physical performance in old age. Age Ageing. 2017; 46, 232–237.Google Scholar
25. Perala, MM, von Bonsdorff, M, Mannisto, S, et al. A healthy Nordic diet and physical performance in old age: findings from the longitudinal Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. Br J Nutr. 2016; 115, 878–886.Google Scholar
26. St-Onge, M, Mignault, D, Allison, DB, Rabasa-Lhoret, R. Evaluation of a portable device to measure daily energy expenditure in free-living adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007; 85, 742–749.Google Scholar
27. Colbert, LH, Matthews, CE, Havighurst, TC, Kim, K, Schoeller, DA. Comparative validity of physical activity measures in older adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011; 43, 867–876.Google Scholar
28. Rikli, RE, Jones, JC. Development and validation of a functional fitness test for community-residing older adults. J Aging Phys Act. 1999; 7, 129–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29. Aiken, CE, Ozanne, SE. Sex differences in developmental programming models. Reproduction. 2013; 145, R1–R13.Google Scholar
30. Cohen, J. A power primer. Psychol Bull. 1992; 112, 155–159.Google Scholar
31. Eriksson, JG, Osmond, C, Perala, MM, et al. Prenatal and childhood growth and physical performance in old age – findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study 1934–1944. Age (Dordr). 2015; 37, 108.Google Scholar
32. Salonen, MK, Kajantie, E, Osmond, C, et al. Developmental origins of physical fitness: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. PLoS One. 2011; 6, e22302.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
33. Barker, DJ. Fetal origins of coronary heart disease. BMJ. 1995; 311, 171–174.Google Scholar
34. Maltin, CA, Delday, MI, Sinclair, KD, Steven, J, Sneddon, AA. Impact of manipulations of myogenesis in utero on the performance of adult skeletal muscle. Reproduction. 2001; 122, 359–374.Google Scholar
35. Lawlor, DA, Cooper, AR, Bain, C, et al. Associations of birth size and duration of breast feeding with cardiorespiratory fitness in childhood: findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Eur J Epidemiol. 2008; 23, 411–422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36. Raikkonen, K, Pesonen, AK. Early life origins of psychological development and mental health. Scand J Psychol. 2009; 50, 583–591.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed