Aerobic fitness and physical activity are inversely associated with body fat, dyslipidemia and inflammatory mediators in children and adolescents living with HIV

This study aimed to investigate if moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and aerobic fitness are associated with cardiovascular risk factors in HIV+ children and adolescents. Sixty-five children and adolescents (8 to 15 years) provided minutes of MVPA measured by accelerometers and peak oxygen uptake (peak VO₂) by breath-by-breath respiratory exchange. Cardiovascular risk factors were characterized by body fat, blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and carotid intima-media thickness. Results indicated that higher MVPA was associated with lower values of total (β = -3.566) and trunk body fat (β = -3.495), total cholesterol (β = -0.112) and LDL-c (β = -0.830). Likewise, higher peak VO₂ was associated with lower total (β = -0.629) and trunk body fat values (β = -0.592) and levels of CRP (β = -0.059). The physically active participants had lower total cholesterol (-24.4 mg.dL⁻¹) and LDL-c (-20.1 mg.dL⁻¹) compared to participants judged to be insufficiently active. Moreover, participants with satisfactory peak VO₂ showed lower total (-4.1%) and trunk (-4.3%) body fat, CRP (-2.3 mg.L⁻¹), IL-6 (-2.4 pg.mL⁻¹) and TNF-α (-1.0 pg.mL⁻¹) compared to low peak VO₂ peers. High levels of MVPA and aerobic fitness may prevent developing of cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents HIV+.