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Are youth BMI and physical activity associated with better or worse than expected health-related quality of life in adulthood? The Physical Activity Longitudinal Study

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Abstract

Purpose

Body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (PA) affect health-related quality of life (HRQL); however, the long-term impact of youth BMI and PA on adult HRQL is unknown. We investigated the relationship of youth BMI and PA to adult HRQL 22 years later.

Methods

Subjects included 310 participants aged 7 to 18 in the 1981 Canada Fitness Survey, followed up in 2002–2004. The associations of youth BMI and leisure time PA to adult HRQL were examined, comparing to age- and sex-adjusted Canadian SF-36 norms.

Results

Bivariate analyses revealed positive associations between youth overweight and mental aspects of adult HRQL, but little association with physical aspects. In logistic regression adjusting for adult BMI and other covariates, overweight youth were 7 times more likely than healthy weight youth to score at/above the norm on both mental health (MH) and bodily pain, and almost 18 times more likely on the mental component score (MCS). Youth BMI was also positively associated with general health (GH), social functioning, and role emotional. Removing adult BMI from the models led to attenuated associations with mental HRQL and no association with GH. Longitudinal BMI status change was explored, and findings supported the main regression results. Youth PA was not associated with adult HRQL.

Conclusions

Youth overweight conveyed a long-term positive impact on several aspects of adult HRQL, and this impact may be both direct and indirect through BMI change and the effect on adult BMI. Youth PA had no long-term impact on adult HRQL.

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Abbreviations

HRQL:

Health-related quality of life

BMI:

Body mass index

PA:

Physical activity

CFS:

Canada Fitness Survey

CSWB:

Campbell Survey of Wellbeing

PALS:

Physical Activity Longitudinal Study

SF-36:

Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36

KKD:

Kilocalories kilogram−1 day−1

SD:

Standard deviation

OR:

Odds ratio

CI:

Confidence interval

PF:

Physical functioning

RP:

Role physical

BP:

Bodily pain

GH:

General health

VT:

Vitality

SF:

Social functioning

RE:

Role emotional

MH:

Mental health

PCS:

Physical component summary

MCS:

Mental component summary

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Acknowledgments

K. M. Herman is supported by a Canadian Institutes for Health Research Doctoral Research Award. PALS was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Strategic Joint Initiative Grant on Society, Culture and the Health of Canadians II Grant No. 839.2000-1032; C. L. Craig, L. Gauvin). The 1981 CFS was supported by Fitness and Amateur Sport (now the Physical Activity Unit of the Public Health Agency of Canada; C. L. Craig), and the 1988 CSWB was funded by Fitness and Amateur Sport, the National Health Research and Development Program of Health Canada (Grant No. 6606-32-46; C. L. Craig), and the Campbell Soup Company, Ltd. The authors would like to thank Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk for his contribution to the conceptualization of the paper and direction provided during early stages of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Kinesiology & Health Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Katya M. Herman

  2. Clinical Research Centre, Kingston General Hospital, and Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Wilma M. Hopman

  3. Canadian Fitness & Lifestyle Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Cora L. Craig

  4. School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Cora L. Craig

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  1. Katya M. Herman
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  2. Wilma M. Hopman
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  3. Cora L. Craig
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Correspondence to Katya M. Herman.

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Herman, K.M., Hopman, W.M. & Craig, C.L. Are youth BMI and physical activity associated with better or worse than expected health-related quality of life in adulthood? The Physical Activity Longitudinal Study. Qual Life Res 19, 339–349 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-010-9586-8

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