BEHAVIORAL VARIABLES AND DEVELOPMENT OF A CENTRAL PATTERN OF BODY-FATFROM 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, a nd a central pattern of body fat (subscapular skinfold thickness and w aist circumference) measured six times between the mean ages of 13 and 27 y in a healthy white population. Subjects (84 males, 98 females) w ere participants in the longitudinal Amsterdam Growth and Health Study . In longitudinal analyses, alcohol intake was positively associated w ith the subscapular skinfold thickness (beta = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.1 6) in males. In females. the subscapular skinfold thickness was negati vely associated with physical activity (P = -0.10, 95% CI: -0.15, -0.0 5) and, unexpectedly, energy intake (P = -0.25, 95% CI: -0.31, -0.19), whereas a positive association was found with carbohydrate intake (P = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.16). In both sexes, the mean value of behavior al variables, obtained from the mean value in adolescence and the valu es obtained at 21 and 27 y of age was nor significantly associated wit h the subscapular skinfold thickness or waist circumference at the mea n age of 27 y, except for a small positive association between physica l activity and the subscapular skinfold thickness in males (R-2 = 2.3% ).